Through Our Past We Unite
by Oliviaa Rose
Summary: We all know Harry Potter's story, but what of the stories of the people that surrounded him? What happened behind the scenes? When the Hogwarts eighth years just can't seem to let the past go, McGonagall uses their pasts to help them unite. How will they react when their secrets come out? How will others react to secrets that are revealed? Not everything is always as it seems...
1. Welcome to United 101

**Hello! For those of you who are not familiar with my work my name is Oliviaa Rose! I've been on this website for four, almost five, years now and I'll probably never grow tired of it! For those who DO know me, welcome to another story! I know, I KNOW, "Another story, Oliviaa, while you still have like five you haven't completed?" YES! I'm sorry, but I can't help myself! This is one I've been thinking of for a while and I just couldn't resist! I think for a while I'll be focusing on this story and It All Started with a Book (which if you haven't read PLEASE go read!). Not to say I've given up on my other stories, but at the moment I'm confident writing in these two. I've been thinking about this one because through the books the only life we really know COMPLETELY is Harry's. I wanted to play around with the other characters stories and show what COULD have possibly gone on behind the scenes. SO I hope you enjoy and PLEASE tell me what you think!**

The students all looked at each other in wonder and confusion as they stood around in the big classroom. Earlier that week all of the eighth year students had gotten a letter from Headmistress McGonagall demanding their presence in the unused third floor classroom for a mandatory meeting. Failure to show would result in heavy punishing, and no one, not even the Slytherins, had been willing to risk being on the end of McGonagall's wrath. Especially after how this year had been going so far.

After the war had ended and Hogwarts had been repaired the Headmistress had sent out letters giving all of last years seventh years the chance to return to Hogwarts as 'eighth years' and finish their education. Most, if not all, had snagged the opportunity immediately for different reasons.

With the war finally over and the world free of Voldemort you'd think there'd be peace. You'd think people would have gotten over their past grudges and moved on. You'd think there'd be no more prejudices or fights.

You'd be wrong.

If anything fights got worse, grudges and hate towards one another increased, and people, especially the eighth years, just couldn't seem to move on. Almost all of the Slytherins had returned for their final year, some by choice and some by force, and no one had been happy about it. They were now the number one targets. Not one Slytherin could walk down the hallways without being shoved or having the word 'Death Eater' be spat at them. Some students tried to jinx them, while others just hit them with their words. But the Slytherins never just took it. They fought back with their own jinxes and their own words. And throughout the months things slowly got worse. Fights broke out in the halls, in the courtyard, and even in the Great Hall. A class couldn't go by without words being exchanged between two different houses and curses being thrown. Detentions were flying left and right and kids were in the hospital every day.

Four months into the new school year and it finally came to the breaking point when half the eighth years, and some of the seventh years, broke into a battle in the middle of the Great Hall, hurting some of the first and second years who were hit by the flying spells and couldn't defend themselves.

McGonagall had had _ENOUGH_.

When the Headmistress entered the classroom with a bang causing the students to jump, everyone could see the disgust and rage on her face. They were silent in fear as she made her way to the front of the room. As she looked at them she could see the clear divide as they all stood with their Houses in each corner of the room. She shook her head. This wouldn't do.

With a flick of her wand several seats filled the room. They were placed in a half circle so everyone was facing each other and could see the front of the room. Placed on each chair was a name tag.

"Find the chair with your name on it and have a seat," McGonagall practically growled.

"You're giving us assigned seats?" Pansy said incredulously. She coward slightly under the fierce glare McGonagall shot her.

"Act like children and I will treat you like children. _Sit_ ," she hissed. Everyone scrambled to find their seats, not wanting to test the Headmistress when she was in this mood.

As Hermione found her seat she looked at the names surrounding her and flinched. The name to her right made Hermione sigh in relief that she'd at least have someone by her side, but the names on either side of them made her worry a little.

"'Mione," Dean Thomas said warmly as he took his seat beside her. "So far so good, eh?" he said brightly and Hermione smiled widely. She was happy that if she had to go through what was sure to be a horrid meeting with anyone that it was with Dean.

A shadow passed over them and Hermione tensed as she felt someone take a seat beside her. Slowly she looked to her left and her light brown eyes met dark green eyes. Theodore Nott. Son to notorious and vicious Death Eater, Thaddeus Nott, who was known for killing more than thirty young muggle children in a school raid and his own wife when she was pregnant with a baby girl. The boy who never really spoke to anyone outside of his Slytherin friends. The boy who never really picked on her, but never stopped it either.

"Granger," he said simply.

"Nott," she responded in the same fashion before turning to face the front.

Beside him Dean could also feel someone take a seat and Dean didn't need to look to see who it was. He had seen the name before he sat down, and despite the easy smile he had shot Hermione his body had remained tense, waiting for him to come. And as he felt the boy's presence beside him his body seemed to tense even more. It had been months since they'd last seen each other, fighting on opposite sides of the war, and a year since the 'incident'. At least that's what Dean referred to it as because if he called it anything else his mind would probably break down. There wasn't a day where Dean didn't think about what had happened. What this boy had done to him. The incident that changed Dean's life forever.

So as the boy sat beside him Dean continued to look at McGonagall standing at the front of the classroom. Their seats were in the middle of the semicircle, which put them right in front of the Headmistress and the screen that suddenly appeared with another flick of her wand.

"Thomas," the boy eventually greeted as people continued to search for their seats. Dean felt a chill go down his spine and tried his best not to show it. He determinedly kept his eyes trained on the Headmistress, refusing to look at the boy beside him. He couldn't look at him, As soon as he did every encounter they ever had that haunted his dreams and plagued his mind would come back, and Dean couldn't deal with that. Not now.

"Zabini," Dean said reluctantly.

Blaise Zabini sat beside him, studying the boy that refused to look at him. Though his face showed no emotion inside he was hurting. The two for some time had a bad past. For their first few years at Hogwarts they fought like Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. There wasn't a day that passed where the two wouldn't pass childish insults at one another. It wasn't about blood purity or social standing. To be completely honest Blaise couldn't remember what had caused such hatred between the two, they had just never clicked. And then one day things went too far and Blaise called Dean the one thing he swore on his father's grave he'd never say. Mudblood. His mother would have slapped the shit out of him then and there if she had been there. And sure, Draco was his best friend, but it didn't mean they shared the same beliefs.

From that day on things got worse between the two, at least in Blaise's opinion. They no longer fought, but Dean had started avoiding him like the plague. If they crossed paths Dean wouldn't look at him or even acknowledge he was there. In classrooms and in the Great Hall Dean sat so he couldn't see Blaise. There were no more dirty looks or spiteful words. There was just silence. Everyone expected Blaise to be happy to be rid of the boy, but instead it drove Blaise _crazy_. He couldn't stand the sudden silence and calm that came with Dean's absence. His life had always been filled with quiet calm and he realized that Dean brought the crazy unexpected that Blaise thrived for. That he _needed_. But for the next year the quiet calm was all he got until he couldn't take it anymore and apologized. Dean had been surprised and so had he, but they both knew it was what they needed. But the results were different from what Blaise had expected. They weren't enemies anymore, they were _friends._ It was tentative and awkward at first, but it soon blossomed into something greater than Blaise could imagine. They had become the kind of friends that did things together, like study, or play games, or joke, or fly on brooms, or just talk. They _talked_. Talked about their likes and dislikes, their lives, their families, their hopes, dreams, and their _fears_. They were the kind of friends that shot each other smiles in the hallways, and in the classrooms, and across the Great Hall. Sure, Blaise had friends, like Draco and Theo, and sure they were great, but Dean was _different_. He wasn't afraid to tell Blaise about his life or show Blaise his emotions. He urged Blaise to open up and show him the same. He didn't care if people saw him smiling at Blaise. Draco and Theo were great, but Dean had quickly become Blaise's best friend.

And then he had gone and royally _fucked_ it up. He did the one thing that threw it all away. The one thing that effectively _ruined_ Dean's life, ruined his _future_. The one thing that brought them back to square one and caused the boy beside him to hate Blaise all over again, maybe even more so than before. And because of this, it caused Blaise to hate himself. But what he had done he felt was right at the time. Something that _needed_ to be done, and to this day he still thought it needed to be done. But it didn't make him feel any better for actually doing it and ruining the greatest friendship he'd ever had.

"How are you?" Blaise said hesitantly, his eyes not straying from the boy beside him.

Dean flinched, obviously unhappy with Blaise's attempt at a conversation. But Dean was anything but rude, so he responded with a quick, "Fine," and hoped that Blaise would catch the hint.

Blaise did, and with a sigh he looked forward. His expression remained impassive, but inside another piece of him broke.

"No way!" the shout of two different voices rang through the room, causing every head to swivel to the left. Standing in front of two seats facing one another were none other than Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Both boys were glaring heavily at one another as their faces started to heat up with anger.

Draco turned on the Headmistress, his eyes wide and nostrils flared. "There's no way i'm sitting next to the Boy-Who-Just-Doesn't-Know-How-To-Die! Are you out of your damn mind, woman?!"

"Don't you dare talk to her like that, Malfoy!" Harry shouted, stepping closer to the blond.

Draco swiveled back to face him. "Oh, and what are you going to do about it Scarhead? Huh? Get some more of your mummies love to help you survive as you try to fight me? Bad news, your mummy isn't here to sacrifice her pathetic life for you again, Pothead!"

"And your daddy isn't around for you to go tattle to so he can take care of your pathetic problems! Tell me, ferret, if your daddy is rotting in Azkaban and your mummy is locked up in her own home who's going to help you wipe your ass?!" Harry yelled, his face turning red.

"Why you little-" Draco started, advancing towards Harry.

"ENOUGH!" McGonagall screeched, and all movement and sound stopped. No one had ever heard McGonagall scream in such a way, not even during the war. The two boys froze, their eyes wide as they looked at their professor. "You have two seconds to sit down before I expell you both."

"Expel?!" Both boy exclaimed, shocked.

"Yes, EXPEL! Now SIT!"

Both boys jumped and, slightly scared, reluctantly took their seats.

McGonagall looked around the room, taking in the wary and scared face of her students. "Welcome, to United 101," she began, her voice harsh. "This is a new class that you will be taking for the next few weeks. Actually, it is the only class you will be taking the next few weeks. This class was designed by Dumbledore many years ago as a last resort. He designed it in case there came a day where the rivalries between Houses became too much, too dangerous. And let me tell you, no one ever expected this school to have to use it. And I never expected to have to use it with this class generation." Some of the students looked down, ashamed. "Let me begin by saying that I am not disappointed with you lot. I am disgusted. Completely and utterly disgusted with every single one of you. I look around and for the past seven years I have seen nothing but great potential in all of you. There's not a single person in this room that I ever expected less of when it came to going somewhere in their future and doing big things. But, Merlin, did all of you let me down. We went through a war… a WAR! I expected all these childish grudges and prejudices to end along with the war. I expected you all to come back here and act like the adults you're supposed to be and set an example. But instead I got a childish pack of animals! Fighting in the hallways and classrooms! Bullying the younger years of other Houses! I didn't survive a war for you all to begin another one because you can't grow up!" At this point McGonagall was yelling, her face turning bright red in her anger.

Silence rang through the room. No one dared to make a sound, hardly even breathing. Half the room couldn't look at her while the others couldn't look away.

McGonagall took a deep breath, calming herself down a little before continuing. "As I said in the beginning, United 101 was a last resort. A plan Z. It was never supposed to be used. But it's come to the point where I have no other option." Everyone looked at her, wary of what this new class consisted of. "Behind me you see a screen," she continued, motioning to the floating, white, smoaky screen a few feet behind her. "Since the day you entered Hogwarts this castle has been collecting your memories. Every memory of every moment of your life seeped into the castle walls." Gasps echoed around the room. Most paled at this news, some looked angry, and others just looked curious. "Dumbledore created and cast the spell himself for the specific use of this class. He never looked at them, no one ever did. He just stored them all in the castle walls. And even when the castle was destroyed your memories stayed in it's roots." She paused, looking around the room and taking in everyone's shocked expressions. "We hoped that we would never have to use them, but you leave me no choice." She waved her wand and a bag appeared in her other hand. "In this bag is the name of every single student in this room. Engraved in your name are your memories. Today I will pick a student's name from the bag and play their memories for you all to see." Everyone gasped and gaped at her. "And after you've finished with that student you will move onto the next one, and the next one, and the next one until you have viewed the memories of every single person in this room!"

An uproar went up in the room immediately as everyone cried out and started shouting.

"You can't do that!" Draco yelled

"This is so unfair!" Parvati shouted.

"Is this even legal?!" Justin exclaimed.

"This is an invasion of privacy!" Seamus yelled.

"SILENCE!" McGonagall yelled, and everyone immediately quieted. "You think I give a damn about your rights? The moment you came into this castle and started acting like a pack of wild animals instead of human beings is when you lost your human rights!" Everyone was silent, no one knowing what to do or say. Some were shaking in anger, others were shaking in fear, a few looked ready to cry, and the rest just looked shocked. McGonagall took a deep breath. "So here are the rules. Everyday you will meet in this classroom at eight o'clock sharp. If you are late you will have a week's detention. Miss a class and I will expel you." Everyone gasped once again at the harsh punishments, but knew she was completely serious. "When you crossed through that door today a tongue twister spell was placed on you. It prevents you from talking about any of the memories you see in this room to anyone besides each other without that person's consent. Everyday when you cross that threshold your wands will immediately leave your person and appear in a chest in my office. They will reappear when you leave the room. You will only be allowed to leave this room once for lunch and then you are required to stay until dinner time. Snacks will appear periodically. If you leave this room without permission you will receive a week's detention and fifty points will be taken away from your house. I understand that some memories will be hard to watch, especially for those who already lived through them so," she waved her wand and two doors appeared in the back of the room, "the door on the right is a privacy room to get away for a few minutes, and the door on the left is a bathroom."

After she was finished she paused once again and met every eye in the room. "I understand this is very harsh and maybe even a little cruel, but I've run out of options. You all seem to think you know each other enough to judge and label each other. Mister Malfoy and Mister Potter, you both seem to think the other lives this grand life, when you both actually have no idea that you're both quite the same." Both boys scoffed, not believing that they could possibly have anything in common, especially when it came to the lives they lived. "Or even you, Mister Weasley," she said turning on Ron, who jumped. "I've even heard you go at your own best friend, Miss Granger, about how she believes she's 'Miss Perfect' and lives this perfect life with a perfect family, a sentiment you seem to share with Miss Parkinson, and quite a few other classmates. Are you all sure this is so true?" Hermione paled as she was put on the spot by her favorite professor and shrunk down in her seat, shaking slightly as everyone turned to look at her. "Or how about Mister Longbottom, who most of you laughed at for being clumsy and 'dumb', but none of you have any idea what his story is, what he may have gone through at home, what made him who he was." Neville blushed bright red and looked down at his lap. "It's time for you all to wake up and face the facts. None of you know a damn thing about one another. Not the lives they live, not the families they live or don't live with, and certainly nothing about them personally or what's going on in their heads. I'm done seeing you all tear my school apart. So if exposing your lives to one another is what I have to do to open all of your eyes and make you finally wake up, then that's what I'll do."

Though no one was willing to say it, they all knew she was right. No one actually knew each other in this room, not even the closest of friends like the Golden Trio. They all had their deep, dark secrets they left outside of the Hogwarts walls, and they were all terrified to have them revealed.

"With that said, I will now pick a name," McGonagall said. Everyone watched with bated breaths as she opened the bag and reached inside. After some ruffling around she finally seemed to latch onto one and pulled it out. Everyone's eyes latched onto the simple piece of parchment paper that held the name of the unfortunate person that would get to have all their secrets spilled first. As she unfolded the parchment and read the name everyone could see the flash of pity that crossed her eyes.

"Hermione Granger," she said, turning the paper for the room to see.

The room was silent as everyone turned to stare at the golden girl. She sat, completely frozen, her eyes not moving from the neat script of her name on that tiny piece of parchment. The tiny piece of parchment that was about to exploit all of the secrets she worked so hard to keep away from Hogwarts. On the outside she looked calm, but on the inside she screaming and panicking. She couldn't find it in her to breathe, to move, to do anything. All she could do was stare at that blasted piece of parchment.

"And unfortunately because you are tied so closely, Miss Granger, to another student that your lives are basically one, there is another name I feel I might as well add to yours."

At that everyone looked confused. Everyone besides four people. Hermione watched as the professor waved her hand over the bag and another piece of parchment flew out into her hand. And as she used magic to infuse the two papers together and turn it so the class could see she didn't need to look up to know who's name it was.

"Dean Thomas."

Gasps of surprise echoed around the room. If her classmates had to guess they would have guessed Harry or Ron, but Dean? What did he have to do with Hermione?

Everyone's head twisted to look at the boy, who surprisingly sat there with a calm smile on his face.

"Seven years," he said, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it. "Seven years we managed to keep it a secret, 'Mione. I didn't think we'd manage to keep it from getting out for this long." He turned to look at the girl beside him, who was staring at her feet. "Are you ready for it to come out?"

Hermione stayed silent for a moment, keeping her eyes trained on her feet. Then she slowly raised her eyes to look at him and a small smile came to her face. "Now that war is over? Yes, Dean, I think I am."

With that said, as everyone watched confused and shocked, the two clasped hands, ready to face their truths together.

 **Sooooo whatcha think? PLEASE leave reviews! I need to get feedback to know how to continue successfully with the story. I've got 90% of Hermione's story mapped out, things may change as I write you never know. I do not however have a pairing set in stone for her yet, so ideas are welcome. But heads up, i'm not planning on Dramione. I love Dramione as much as the next person but I think it'd be too expected and I want to do something different. So please let me know! And any other pairings as well!**

 **Can't wait to hear from you all!**

 **Oliviaa Rose**


	2. The Adoption

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, I love hearing from my readers! In this chapter we dive right into Dean and Hermione's story, so I hope you're ready! Also sidenote, I hate Ron Weasley with a burning passion and I usually bash him in my stories, but I've decided not to in this story. Try something knew. But it DEFINITELY will not be a Romione story. Sorry loves! Anyways, please enjoy!**

"Hermione?" Harry asked, looking at his best friend with confusion written all over his face. Everyone was currently looking at Hermione and Dean, confused as to how the two had any connection. There were only two other people in the room who knew their story, but stayed silent until it was time for them to speak up. Two others, however, had absolutely no clue what was going on and didn't like the fact that they may not know their best friend as well as they thought.

Hermione looked at Harry with pleading eyes. "Harry, do you trust me?" she asked.

Harry nodded immediately. "With my life."

"Then trust that there is nothing I would keep a secret from you unless I believed I absolutely had to."

"So you are keeping secrets?" Ron asked, hurt laced in his voice from the opposite side of the room, across from Harry.

Hermione opened her mouth, ready to defend herself, when Pansy cut in. "Aw, what's wrong, Weasel? Scared your little girlfriend is actually a little liar?" she mocked with a fake pout.

"Shut up, Parkinson," Ron snarled.

"Oh, I guess the Golden Trio isn't as perfect as they seem," Draco tutted.

"Malfoy, I swear to一" Harry started.

"Enough!" Dean shouted, and everyone turned to him, shocked. No one had ever heard Dean raise his voice at anyone, let alone get mad at someone. Dean was known as the "class clown", the "comic relief". When things got heated he was the icebreaker that cooled down the situation by cracking a joke. Never had he ever gotten mad at someone, at least not publicly. "I'll be damned if I let anyone in this room try to make Mia feel guilty for having her secrets, especially you two," he said, pointing at Harry and Ron. "What about your home life, Harry? How long did it take you to tell Mia or Ron what was going on when you left Hogwarts? Hm?" Harry looked down, slightly ashamed of himself. "Or how about you, Ron? Wanna talk about what you did this summer? Do you really want people to know about the _incident_?" Ron went red in embarrassment and shot Hermione a guilty look. "Exactly. If you guys are entitled to your secrets, why isn't Mia?"

"Very well put, Mister Thomas," McGonagall said. "I will not allow anyone in this room to gang up on niether Miss Granger or Mister Thomas through the viewing of these memories."

"If we're going to do this, can we get on with it?" Dean asked, slouching in his seat and taking Hermione's hand. "I think we'd both like to get this over with."

McGonagall nodded sympathetically. "As you wish. Now I will not be staying to view these memories. These are for your benefits only I will be back in a few hours to let you out for lunch." With that she waved her wand over the paper with their names on it and it turned to mist, which slowly floated up to the misty screen and infused itself inside. Suddenly a picture of a small town with a bunch of people popped onto the screen and it started to move. "Good luck," McGonagall said, and she quickly swept from the room.

Hermione and Dean shared one last hopeless look before joining the others in watching the screen.

 **It was a bright Friday afternoon in the middle of July. The air was a comfortable warm and a light breeze fluttered through the trees that littered around the town. The town itself was full of bustling people, walking to and from the little shops that lined the streets.**

 **Among the busy crowd of people taking advantage of their Friday afternoon was a small family of three. First was a woman of medium stature with curly, long brown hair that trailed after her as she walked as the wind blew through it.**

"Is that your mum?" Harry asked, realizing with a start that he had never met either one of Hermione's parents. He knew that they were both dentists, but that's just about it.

Hermione nodded, a slight smile on her face as she looked at her mom. Those had been the good days. The days where they had all been so happy. The days before everything had gone so wrong.

"Well you can see where you get your hair from," Seamus said, laughing lightly with others joining in.

 **With bright, green eyes and a wide smile, she held the hand of a tall, muscular man. Like the woman beside him, the man also wore a large grin. He ran his free hand through his shaggy, brown hair as his golden, brown eyes took in his surroundings.**

"And there's the eyes," Dean said softly. He smiled at Hermione gently as she took a deep breath at the sight of her father. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

Hermione nodded, begging the tears to go away. "Yeah, it's just been a while, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," he said, giving her hand a squeeze.

 **In front of them skipped a young girl. The girl was quite small for her age.**

"Still is," Ron laughed.

The other occupants in the room laughed as Hermione stuck her tongue out at him. "Not everyone can be a giant."

"Better a giant than a midget," he teased right back, laughing as she huffed.

 **As she skipped her wild, bushy brown hair bounced, making her hair look even wilder. Out of all of them the little girl wore the brightest smile that seemed to just burst with excitement. Her wide grin showed off her two buck teeth and a gap towards the back of her mouth where a tooth used to be. Her golden brown, wide doe eyes stared straight ahead, shining determinedly.**

"Oh, I remember what day this is," Hermione said fondly with a wide smile. "This is a good memory."

"Omigod, Hermione, you were so cute!" Parvati squealed and the other girls, minus those from Slytherin, cooed along.

"Uh, thanks?" Hermione said awkwardly.

"Oh, you were so cute, weren't you? Oh, yes you were," Dean cooed mockingly, going to pinch her cheeks.

Hermione swatted his hand away with a growl. "Shut up, doofus. Get away from me!" she exclaimed when he tried to pinch her cheeks again.

Everyone watched the interaction curiously. Before today hardly anyone had ever seen the two talk to one another, or at least no one had paid close enough attention to notice. Now here the two were, teasing and laughing with each other like they had been best buds their whole life. Well, for as far as anyone else knew, they might've been.

" **I'm getting a brother. I'm getting a brother," the little girl sang as she skipped.**

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Hermione, I thought you were an only child?" Harry said cautiously.

Hermione didn't respond, instead staring at the screen like she hadn't heard them.

 **The woman laughed joyously. "Or a sister, Hermione. We haven't decided yet."**

 **Hermione scrunched her nose in slight disgust. Shaking her head, she said, "I don't want a sister. Girls are mean. I want a brother that will play with me and protect me from the mean girls."**

"I still stand by that notion," Hermione mumbled to herself, casting a quick glance towards Pansy, who was sneering at the screen. Beside her she felt more than saw Theo look at her, his eyes amused.

 **Hermione's parents shared a sad look behind the girls back. They were aware of the bullying that their daughter received from the kids at her school. At four years old their daughter was very intelligent, more so than the other kids her age.**

"Nothing has changed," Neville said with a grin towards Hermione, who blushed with a smile of her own.

 **Where they wanted to go out and play, she prefered to stay in and read. The other kids didn't understand her love of learning, which immediately made her the outcast. The boys were intimidated by her knowledge, while the girls were jealous of it.**

There were more than a few guilty looks shot Hermione's way. No one in this room could deny that they had at least once in their life picked on or resented Hermione for her brains. Hermione had by now accepted the fact that her intelligence would always make her different from everyone else, but that never made it easier to deal with.

 **It was because of this that they decided to adopt another child.**

Almost everyone reeled back at that confirming information. Everyone in this room had heard that Hermione Granger was a single child. But an adopted brother or sister? Now that was not something you just accidentally left out of a conversation.

"Looks like Granger has a dirty family secret," Pansy cooed with a nasty smirk.

"Shut up, Parkinson," Hermione growled, glaring at the still smirking girl. "It's not a dirty secret, just a personal one. I may like to read, but my life isn't an open book for everyone to read the story of."

Pansy snickered. "Whatever you say, Granger. I guess we'll see."

Hermione growled and looked up at the screen again. Dean squeezed her hand again, trying to give her as much comfort as possible. Ron was looking at their hands suspiciously, wondering exactly what role in Hermione's life Dean played.

 **They wanted Hermione to have someone that would accept who she was, but also push her to go out and play sometimes. They wanted their daughter to be able to have someone by her side. Sonya and Daniel Granger had discovered long ago that they wouldn't be able to have anymore children, they barely had been able to have Hermione,**

"Shame," Draco said mockingly, causing Harry to give him a heated glare as he smirked.

 **so adoption was their only choice. Even so, they wanted to have a child around Hermione's age that she could get on with.**

" **We're here!" Hermione squealed.**

"I've never heard Hermione squeal over anything before," Justin Finch-Fletchy said from his place beside Ron as he watched with wide eyes.

"Except books," Harry and Ron said fondly, and Hermione smiled gently.

 **They arrived in front of a large, towering, house-like building. The exterior was made of a deep brown wood that seemed to be wilting and cracking in many places. The grass lawn was starting to brown, and was littered with scattered toys. Grass sprouted between the rocks of the path that led up to the front porch. The porch itself and the stairs that led up to it looked rickety and poorly built. Above the porch was a sign that read, "St. Jude's Orphanage". The letters were worn out and the sign looked ready to fall from the roof.**

"That's an _orphanage_?" Theo said disbelievingly, looking at the building in disgust. "Who would allow that to run?"

"The poor children," Hannah Abbott said sadly from her place beside Neville.

Dean frowned bitterly as he looked at the building.

" **Gloomy," Hermione whispered to herself, shaking slightly at the creepy sight. She took in the dark, misty windows, wondering if the people inside could see the bright sun. As she looked at the dark windows she jumped as her brown eyes met another pair of darker brown eyes that belonged to a young boy looking at her through one of the cracked windows on the ground floor.**

Hermione smiled knowingly as she watched her younger self look at the boy that would change her life.

" **C'mon, love," Sonya said softly, staring at the building warily as she took her daughter's hand.**

 **Hermione continued to look at the boy as they made their way up the path. He sat on the bay window, knees clutched to his chest as he observed her as well. Through the cracked glass she could see that his skin was the color of chocolate, which made him a little harder to see through the dark window. He had a small afro that wasn't that well trimmed, some curls sticking out from all different angles. He wore a green shirt that had holes in different places and jeans that didn't quite reach his ankles. Hermione met his brown eyes as they reached the porch and she noticed how sad his eyes were as they watched her move.**

"Wait," Lavender said, leaning out of her seat to get a closer look at the screen. "Dean, is that _you_?"

Everyone gasped as they looked closer and realized the young boy on the screen did in fact look like a miniature Dean. From the afro to the eyes.

Dean didn't answer, but the reminiscing smile on his face said it all.

"You were an orphan?" Blaise asked gently. They may have not been friends for long, but when they were Blaise had always felt like though Dean was always an open person there was something he was keeping to himself. Blaise had accepted that, having a few secrets of his own, but he never imagined that this was what Dean had been hiding.

Dean tensed when the other boy spoke, but soon relaxed. "I was."

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?" Parvati asked.

"Why is it anyone's business?" Dean asked. He didn't snap at her or growl, instead he was perfectly calm. And it was the calm way he said it that made her flinch.

"Here's a bright idea," Daphne Greengrass spoke up, "how about if you guys want your answers so bad, you shut up and continue watching."

Everyone looked at her, shocked, but agreed to let the matter go for now. Dean nodded to Daphne in silent thanks, which she accepted with a nod of her own.

 **Hermione, being the kindhearted girl she was, smiled at him gently and waved. The boy's eyes widened, surprised, looking as if no one had ever waved to him ever in his life.**

Those who were close to Dean cringed. Living in a building like that they didn't want to imagine the kind of life he had lived.

 **That thought made young Hermione sad, but she continued to smile at him until they reached the door and was out of his line of vision.**

 **Daniel stepped forward and knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door was thrown open, causing him to take a surprised step back. In front of them stood a plump, middle aged woman dressed in a ratty, long blue dress. She had sickly pale skin that was littered in freckles and zits. Sonya could have sworn she'd seen a few scratch marks on her arms and neck as well. Her hair was bright red and knotted into a bushy bun, or at least half of it was while the other half flailed all over the place. Her dull green eyes seemed to brighten in hunger at the sight of them and she grinned toothily, causing the Grangers to cringe when they saw she was missing teeth.**

Dean growled. "Fatty Haggy," he said. Hermione started to giggle mercilessly at the name, forgetting what he used to call the woman.

"Who?" Neville asked.

"Abigail Hagitha, the owner of the orphanage. Evil, vile woman she was," Dean spat, though he slowly smiled as Hermione continued to giggle.

"You know, not to be mean, but she looks like she could be the evil, ugly twin of Molly Weasley," Theo said quietly so only Hermione and Dean could hear him. Dean gaped widely at him while Hermione gasped and started giggling wildly.

"I shouldn't be laughing at that," Hermione said as she continued to laugh, clutching her stomach. Theo watched her with an amused smirk. He'd never seen Hermione Granger laugh so freely before. It was a sight for sore eyes.

"Shouldn't be laughing at what?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Theo, Hermione, and Dean all said quickly, Hermione calming down enough to breathe.

" **Hello!" she exclaimed excitedly, her voice too high pitched to be believably pleasant. "You must be the Grangers!"**

"Reminds me of Lavender," Hermione muttered, causing Dean to snort and Theo to smirk.

" **We are," Daniel said hesitantly. "I am Daniel, this is my wife, Sonya, and our daughter, Hermione," he said.**

 **The plump woman's eyes zeroed in on Hermione, causing her to flinch.**

Hermione couldn't help but flinch again.

" **Oh! Well aren't you the cutest little thing!" Before Hermione even knew what was happening the woman swooped down and pinched her cheek . . . hard. Hermione flinched and tried not to cry out, and as soon as it had started it ended. Hermione rubbed her cheek**

Hermione unconsciously rubbed her cheek again. "I swear I can still feel it."

"You can still feel it?" Dean said incredulously. "Instead of dragging kids by their ears she dragged them by her cheeks. I swear my cheeks were numb for _years_."

 **and looked up at the woman who wore a shark like smile.**

"Nope, definitely Umbridge," Dean said, causing some people to laugh and others to shudder.

"A mix of Umbridge and Brown? The world is doomed," Theo said quietly again, and Hermione snorted. She looked at him, shocked. Never in a million years would she had imagined Theodore Nott cracking jokes with her, let alone her actually laughing at them. Theo looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she blushed, looking away.

 **Hermione backed away from the woman into her mother's side, who glared at the woman in front of her. "Well, come in, come in! The children are so excited to meet you!"**

 **The woman ushered them in and they entered what looked to be a foyer. The walls were a dark, greyish blue color, and was chipped and peeling in multiple places. To the far left side was a staircase that led to the second floor. Next to the staircase was a small, dark hallway. At the end of the hallway was a door that read, "Abigail Hagitha". On the wall to the right was another door, and behind it screaming and loud bangs could be heard.**

"I hate to say it, but it reminds me of Grimmauld Place," Harry said.

Dean flinched. "No wonder Sirius hated it there, then," he said darkly.

 **Hermione looked at the door warily.**

" **I'm Abigail Hagitha.**

"Also known as Fatty Haggy," Dean said pleasantly, and mostly everyone, even some Slytherins, laughed.

 **It's such a pleasure to have another family looking for a child to add to their mists! And to have you adopt one of** _ **my**_ **kids, well it's always such an honour! To see the bright smile on both you and the child always brings such joy to my heart!" she said with enthusiasm that was so fake the Grangers nearly choked on it. "The kids are right in here, waiting excitedly to meet you. I hope to help you find the perfect one for your family."**

"They're not animals!" Hannah exclaimed.

 **Daniel and Sonya raised their eyebrows. This woman made it sound like they were adopting an animal instead of a small human being.**

"Looks like you're as smart as the Grangers," Neville said with a grin, causing Hannah to blush.

 **Abigail chose to ignore their expressions and took out a ring of keys. Going to the door she put a key in the lock and unlocked the door.**

"She locks them in there?!" Hannah exclaimed.

" **You** _ **lock**_ **the children in the room?" Sonya asked, shocked and disgusted.**

"Okay, now this is just getting freaky," Seamus laughed, causing Hannah to blush again.

" **Oh, dear, of course I do," Abigail said, not noticing or ignoring Sonya's disgusted tone. "If I do not they run all over the house and I can barely get them under control. I am one woman."**

Dean frowned bitterly, remembering all the times he was locked in that room with the other kids. He winced as he remembered all the multiple beatings he used to get. With no way of escape.

" **Why don't you just hire more help?" Daniel asked.**

" **Money," Abigail said with a shrug before pushing open the door.**

"If you're not fit to be looking after children, then you shouldn't own an orphanage," Draco growled. Draco might have been a bastard, but one thing he couldn't stand for was the mistreatment of younger children. Iit brought back too many memories. It's one of the reasons he never bullied anyone younger than a third year. Whether they were muggleborn or Gryffindor, he couldn't stand the sight of tears running down small faces.

Harry shot Draco a disbelieving look, but didn't comment.

 **Inside was a smaller room, definitely not one fit enough for the twenty or so children currently running around inside of it.**

"That room isn't even fit enough for five children, let alone twenty!" Padma Patil growled.

 **Little boys and girls littered around the small room, some running and screaming, and others playing with or throwing toys. A small group of boys were wrestling in the corner, and a little girl was crying in another.**

"This is so sad," Susan Bones said, shooting Dean a sympathetic look.

 **While Sonya and Daniel looked at the scene with wide eyes, Hermione's eyes immediately zoned in on one particular boy in the back that sat on the bay window looking out the cracked glass. Her eyes lit up. It was the boy she saw earlier!**

" **Children!" Abigail barked and immediately all movement seized. In the next moment the children were scrambling to their feet and standing straight, looking at Abigail in fear.**

"That's not a good sign," Blaise muttered to himself.

 **Sonya looked around with worried eyes, wondering what this woman has done to cause such a reaction. Hermione, however, was still watching the boy in the back, who she noticed hadn't moved a muscle at the woman's bark. Instead he continued to sit there and look outside.**

Dean snorted. "At that point I had stopped caring. I was going to be punished whether I obeyed or not. For all I cared, Fatty Haggy could have sucked a一"

"Dean," Hermione warned. Dean shot her an innocent look, which she just glared at.

" **Good morning, Miss Hagitha!" the children chorused.**

" **Good morning, my sweets," Abigail said in a sickly sweet voice. "The Granger family I told you about has arrived and would love to meet you. I expect you to be on your best behaviour," she said, practically growling the last part. But whatever Abigail had said had flown right over the children's head as their eyes zoned in on the family standing in front of them, especially Sonya and Daniel.**

"It's like watching a pack of animals find their pray," Ernie Macmillian said in a horrified tone.

 **Quicker than they could blink they were swarmed by excited children, asking questions and yelling and begging for them to choose them.**

" **Please take me!"**

" **No, take me!"**

" **Can we get a dog? Do you have a dog?"**

" **I'll be good, I promise!"**

" **Do you have a big house?"**

" **I'll keep my room clean!"**

" **I'll let you use my special crayons to color!"**

"This is so sad," Padma said.

"This is so annoying," Pansy spat. "Remind me to never have kids."

"Oh trust us, we will. We wouldn't want anymore of _you_ running around," Ron said in a fake sweet voice, causing Pansy to glare venomously.

 **Sonya and Daniel looked around, flustered. They didn't quite know who to look at or talk to. Abigail was beside them, trying to regain control, but the children weren't listening.**

 **Hermione looked around with wide eyes before her eyes once again found the boy in the back of the room. With a determined glint in her eyes**

"Oh, the glint," Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville all groaned.

"Oh, shut it," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "That _glint_ has saved all of your eyes more times than any of you could count, thank you very much."

The boys all grinned at her cheekily, and she rolled her eyes again.

 **Hermione started to shove her way through the crowd of excited children to get to the boy. When she finally made it through the crowd to the other side Hermione took a deep breath. She always hated small spaces, being highly claustrophobic, and pushing through that crowd put her nerves on edge.**

Hermione flinched. To this day she was still very claustrophobic. If anything the past few years had made it worse.

 **Raising her eyes she jumped again when she found the strange boy watching her. For a small boy his face was expressionless, something Hermione had never seen on a boy close to her age.**

"That because kids that age shouldn't know how to put up a mask the deep," Blaise muttered again, but Dean had heard and he tensed once again.

 **Up close and in person she got a better look at the boy, and he looked even more worn down and dirty than he had through the cracked window.**

"Thanks, love," Dean said sarcastically.

"To be completely fair, you do look quite awful, mate," Seamus said.

"You know, I'm just feeling overwhelmed by all the love in the air," Dean said dramatically, and everyone laughed.

 **There were scratch marks on his face and arms, and Hermione spotted a small bruise on his shoulder. His nails were rough and it was obvious he chewed on them a lot.**

"Still does," Seamus snorted, and Dean crossed his arms to hide his hands when everyone turned to look.

 **His clothes were even more ratted than she thought, and his shoes were basically falling apart. Hermione met his eyes again, and they were even sadder than they looked through the window, but they also held caution as they regarded her.**

Almost everyone that knew Dean decided that they didn't like that look in his eyes. His eyes were always so bright and full of light. Who knew that they hadn't always been like that.

" **Hello," she said, smiling sweetly.**

"That's my smile," Dean said fondly, looking down at her. "It's the smile you use only for me."

"It's the Dean smile," Hermione agreed, delivering him the very smile.

Dean grinned gently. "I lived off of that smile. Still do."

Everyone watched the scene in wonder, wondering how none of them had ever noticed the close connection between the two before.

" **I'm Hermione." The boy quirked an eyebrow at her. "I know, it's a mouthful. Mama says it's beautiful, but I think it's just too much. So you can call me 'Mione or Mia. What's your name?"**

"And there she goes, always rambling when she's nervous," Dean laughed, causing Hermione to stick her tongue out.

"You said we couldn't call you Mia," Ron said, practically pouting.

"That's because it's a family nickname," Dean said. "Only myself, Calvin, and Jessie are allowed to call her that."

"Who's Calvin and Jessie?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Both Dean and Hermione flinched. "You'll see, I guess," Hermione said quietly.

 **The boy just stared at her for a moment, making Hermione fidget. Hermione had never been good at talking to other kids her age. It's one of the reasons she didn't have any friends.**

"Besides being an annoying swot?" Pansy asked nastily, earning a glare from most of the room's occupants.

"Pansy, shut up," Daphne snapped, and all eyes flew to where she sat right next to the girl.

"Daph?" she asked, shocked.

"You're the only one being annoying right now," Daphne said, exasperated. Pansy stared at her wide eyed before glowering with a pout.

 **As he continued to just stare at her Hermione began to fear that she had come off too strong.**

"Always playing games," Hermione muttered, and Dean laughed.

" **Dean," he finally said, hesitantly though, as if it was a secret he was revealing to her.**

 **Hermione smiled toothily at him, glad he hadn't told her to go away like she had been expecting. Happily, she climbed onto the bay window beside him, causing him to clutch his knees tighter to his chest in mild surprise. "Why are you all alone? Why aren't you with the other kids over there?" she fired.**

"Always so subtle," Dean grinned.

"If I was subtle I wouldn't get my answers," Hermione said confidently and Dean laughed again.

 **Dean blinked at her, his expression still blank. "Because I don't have any friends here," he shrugged. "And those kids don't really like me."**

"Who doesn't like Dean?" Seamus asked, confused. "It's _Dean_."

Though no one could see it Dean could feel his cheeks heat up in flattered embarrassment as everyone made sounds of agreement.

 **Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But why not?"**

 **Again, Dean shrugged. "I don't really talk to them and they don't like that. They don't like being ignored."**

Harry shot Draco a look, remembering their first meeting on the train in first year, and Draco glared.

 **Hermione frowned. "Well, that's stupid!" she exclaimed,**

"That wasn't the last time I heard that," Dean chuckled, causing others to laugh as well.

 **glaring over at the other kids as if they had offended her. Dean raised an eyebrow, but made no comment. Turning back to him Hermione gave him a sad smile. "I don't have any friend either."**

" **Why?" Dean asked simply.**

 **Hermione shrugged. "They don't like that I like to read and that I like school. They call me a know-it-all."**

" **Well, do you?" Dean asked.**

" **Do I what?" Hermione asked, confused.**

" **Know it all?" Dean said patiently. Hermione couldn't help but be surprised that he didn't treat her as if she was stupid for not understanding his question like the kids in her class would.**

"Hermione Granger? Stupid? The world is definitely coming to an end," Theo muttered. Hermione shook her head, trying to contain the small smile threatening to bloom on her face.

 **Hermione thought for a moment. "No," she finally said. "But I will one day!" she said with a mix of determination and excitement.**

Dean snorted. "One day came and went, Miss 'Smartest Witch of Our Age'," he teased, and Hermione blushed.

 **Dean turned to look out the window, his lips quirking into a small smile. As he looked outside his smile slowly vanished and his eyes turned curious. "What's it like outside?"**

 **Hermione tilted her head at the strange question. "Outside?" she asked, and he nodded, his eyes never straying from the window. "You've never been outside?" she asks, and he shakes his head sadly.**

"How old are you there?" Harry asked.

"Four," Dean replied.

"In your first four years of life you had never been outside?" Harry asked incredulously. Dean shook his head. "Why?"

"To go outside was a privilege. A golden ticket. She knew what being in that dark house all day everyday was like, and knew the thirst we'd have for some sunlight. She used that against us. Used it as an award to manipulate us. But it was an award I never got for the simple reason that she hated me."

"Why did she hate you?"

"I have a couple theories," Dean said, but didn't elaborate.

 **She thought for a moment, her four year old mind trying to come up with words that could describe the outside to him, but coming up short. With horror, she discovered she had no idea how to describe something that she never really thought about before.**

" **I don't know," Hermione said sadly.**

"Words I never thought I'd hear come out of Hermione Granger's mouth," Draco drawled, and Hermione shot him a glare as he smirked.

 **Dean didn't frown or show that he was unhappy. He just continued to look outside. "Is it bright?" he asked suddenly. "Is the sun as bright as I think it is?"**

 **Hermione gave a small smile. "On sunny days it's very bright. Sometimes so bright it hurts my eyes," she says, happy she could offer something. "It rains a lot, but even then it seems like the sun is still shining, even if it's just a little bit."**

"I love it when it rains," Blaise said with a far away look. "I find it very一"

"Calming," Dean finished along with Blaise. Blaise looked at him, surprised, but Dean continued to look at the screen. "I know," he said quietly.

" **And the town?" he asked softly.**

" **The town is great," Hermione said, grinning. "There's so many different shops to go to. Oh, and the park! The park is so big and it has a playground and a lake right next to it. And everyone is super nice. It's a small town, so everyone knows everyone and everyone looks out for everyone. I mean, the kids my age may not like me, but the older kids and adults are always very nice and try to help me when I need it. And then there are the town festivals! Like the Christmas Festival or the Valentine's Day Festival. There's lots of games and food and dancing!"**

"That sounds . . . fun," Millicent Bulstrode said quietly, wishing she had a neighborhood like that instead of just her cold house surrounded by nothing but woods, not a person or town for miles.

" **What about the trees?" he asks suddenly, his eyes still looking out the window.**

" **Oh they're so tall!" Hermione exclaimed, becoming excited. "And there's so many around here. My house is surrounded by them, and behind my backyard there's a forest. The forest is so beautiful and if you walk through them you can get to the meadow."**

" **Meadow?" Dean asked, his eyes snapping to her. "What's a meadow?"**

 **Hermione's eyes lit up. "A meadow is this big piece of land that's full of grass and flowers. My meadow is full of pink and yellow flowers. It's so pretty. I go there when I want to be alone and to read."**

Both Dean and Hermione's eyes seemed to gloss over as they thought about _their_ meadow. It was their safe haven.

" **It sounds wonderful," Dean said with a faraway look as he tried to imagine it.**

" **Hey, why don't we become friends!" Hermione exclaimed happily, rising to her knees in excitement. "That way you can come over and see my meadow for yourself!"**

 **Dean looked at her with hope shining in his eyes, before suddenly he deflated. Hermione watched him, confused, as he sighed and slouched back into his seat. "It'll never work out," he said.**

 **Hermione frowned. "Why not?" she asked, hurt.**

 **Dean looked at her sadly. "Because in a few minutes your mum and dad are going to pick one of those kids to take home," he said, motioning with his head to the group of kids that were still excitedly hounding the Granger couple, "and you'll get a new brother or sister that will be your new friend and you won't need or want to be friends with me. I'll probably never see you again once you leave."**

"I'm so glad you grew out of your pessimistic stage," Hermione sighed.

Dean grinned. "Yeah, I passed it onto Harry."

"Hey!"

 **Hermione looked at him sadly. "Well, how do you know they won't adopt you?"**

 **Dean snorted and shook his head. "Look at the difference between me and those other kids," he said bitterly. "And then look at the difference between me and your family."**

 **Hermione furrowed her eyebrows while observing the difference between him and everyone else in the room. Besides him having the darkest skin color and being a little taller than the other kids, she couldn't come up with anything else. She looked at him, confused. He couldn't possibly think that what he looked like had anything to do why he hadn't been adopted yet, did he?**

"Is that true?" Seamus asked, worried eyes trained on his best friend from where he sat on Neville's other side. "That's why you thought no one liked you or wanted to adopt you?"

"It's not what I thought, it's what I knew," Dean said bitterly.

"That's dumb," Draco spoke. "Who cares about your skin color?"

Dean laughed coldly. "That's rich, coming from you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Draco spat.

"Let me put it this way, skin color in the muggle world has the same meaning as blood in the magical world," Dean snapped. "In the muggle world there are people who view brown skin as dirty and disgusting. There are the same people, people like you, in the magical world who believe the same of muggleborns simply because they don't come from wizarding families."

"It's not the same," Draco snarled.

"What makes it different?" Dean asked calmly. "Hm? Because in my eyes both things are just two elements that make us human. Let me ask you this, he's your best friend, right?" Dean asked, pointing Blaise.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Yes."

"Would you ever stop being friends with him just because he has brown skin?"

"Of course not!" Draco yelled, outraged.

"What if daddy told you it was wrong? That his brown skin was disgusting a disgrace to the wizarding world. Would he still be your best friend?"

"Of course he would be!" Draco exclaimed.

"Then what makes a muggleborns blood type any different?! Because your daddy said their blood was disgusting, that must mean it's true?!" Dean shouted, causing everyone to jump. "Just because our skin is a little different does that mean it's not the same? That we're less human than you are because you have 'purer' skin? No! So why does it matter if a muggleborn has different blood than you? Just because they were born from muggles doesn't make them any inferior. God dammit, look at Hermione! She's number one of this entire freaking school, and I'll be damned if she doesn't rule the world one day! If that doesn't shut down your dumb racist views, I don't know what will!"

As Dean paused to calm himself down, everyone looked at him, shocked. No one had ever seen Dean lose his cool in such a way. It was obvious to everyone that this was a topic that had bothered Dean for a long time.

"There are people in the muggle world that would hang Blaise and I simply because we are black," Dean said slowly, reigning in his control. "There are muggle versions of Death Eaters out there targeting people with our skin color. If you think the two worlds are still so different you are out of your goddamn mind." Draco flinched and flushed ashamedly, but continued to meet Dean's gaze stubbornly. "Sure, racism now has calmed down some, but it still exists. And around that time," he said, pointing up at the screen, but keeping his eyes on Draco, "it still existed heavily. And that vile woman was the worst racist woman I had ever met. If it was up to her I wouldn't have even been in that orphanage. You see those kids, those _white_ kids, she allowed them to stay there. They were her choice. Me, my parents took that choice away. I was dropped on the doorstep with a simple tag that said my name, and she had no other choice but to take me in. And she hated me _everyday_ for it." Dean took a deep breath before continuing. "That was a very white family central part of England. When families came looking for a child to finish their picture I didn't fit. They were white families coming in to find white children to perfectly finish their painting. I didn't think they were racist, I still don't. And I didn't hate or resent them for it. I couldn't hate these people for wanting the picture perfect family . . . but it didn't make life any easier waiting for the one family to come in and look at me and think that I fit their mold."

Everyone was silent at Dean's confession. No one had ever known that Dean had had such a big problem on his shoulders. Hermione gently took Dean's hand, giving it a squeeze. She knew the topic of race and blood had always been a sore spot for Dean. For Dean he had to deal with discrimination for his skin color in the muggle world, and discrimination for his blood in the wizarding world. He had always taken it with his head held high, but it didn't mean it didn't still tear him down inside.

"I'm sorry, mate," Seamus said sadly.

" **I'm different. No one wants the child that's so different from everyone else. It's why the kids here don't like me. It's why parents won't adopt me. Fatty Haggy made sure I knew why," he said bitterly, turning so he was once again looking outside.**

 **Hermione looked at him sadly, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't like that he thought such a way. She still didn't understand what his appearance had to do with anything, but if it did she thought it was just stupid. She liked Dean. He was the first person her age to actually talk to her like a friend and not immediately hate her off the spot. He was** _ **nice**_ **, and nice people didn't deserve to be in pain.**

"Uh oh, she's about to do something," Harry said lightly, and a few laughed.

" **Well, we're both different, Dean." Hermione said slowly. "And people that are different should be together, right?" she asked. Dean looked at her, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Do you want to go outside?" she asked suddenly.**

" **I can't** **一"**

" **Do you want to go outside?" she asked more forcefully.**

 **Dean blinked at her, still not understanding the sudden change of topic. But in the end, he nodded. "Yes."**

 **Hermione smiled. "Then I'm going to take you," she said, determination shining in her eyes.**

"And there's the glint," Neville laughed.

"The glint that saved my life," Dean smiled fondly.

 **With that said, she hopped onto her feet, standing on the bay window, and screamed, "MAMA, PAPA!"**

 **Dean's eyes grew wide as he watched her, panic shooting through him as every eye in the room shot towards them. He shivered as Fatty Haggy looked at him, a nasty, promising glare coming on her face.**

It took all of Blaise's effort not to growl. Dean may hate him right now, but that didn't mean he stopped caring about him. And the thought of the awful woman hurting him made his blood boil.

" **Sweety? What is it? What's wrong?" Daniel asked, worry laced in his tone as he and Sonya quickly made their way to their daughter, who they hadn't even noticed wondered off in all the excitement.**

" **I want him," she said bluntly, pointing to Dean. The room froze, including the boy she was pointing to.**

Theo scoffed in amusement. "Great way to break it to them easy. Just a simple 'I want him'." Hermione rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out.

" **What?" Sonya asked dumbly.**

" **I want him," Hermione repeated, her head held high in determination.**

"Oh, there's no way she's leaving without him," Harry laughed. "I've seen that stubborn determination one too many time."

" **Hermione," Daniel said gently, knowing the temper his daughter could have when she's in her stubborn mood, "you haven't even talked to the other kids yet** **一"**

" **I don't care about the other kids, I want him."**

"That definitely hurt their pride," Daphne snorted.

 **The other kids behind the Grangers glared at her, taking offense to her words, but she ignored them. "His name is Dean. He's never been outside and kids don't like him either. He says he won't get adopted because of how different he looks, and I think that's stupid. He's different and I'm different, and different people belong together.**

"Sounds like a pretty logical argument to me," Seamus said in a sarcastically serious voice, causing everyone to laugh.

 **So I want you to adopt him because I only want him as my brother and I want to take him outside and away from the mean other kids and Miss Hagitha," she said in one breath.**

 **As Sonya continued to look at her daughter in shock, Daniel looked down at Dean. Dean was looking down at the ground, his knees clenched tightly to his chest and Daniel could see he was shaking slightly. It was obvious to anyone that Dean was terrified to have all the attention on him, and Daniel felt his heart clench for the boy.**

Dean sighed happily as he looked at Daniel Granger. The man had always been so good to him, had always taken care of him. Where had the good days gone?

 **Kneeling to one knee in front of the boy Daniel spoke softly, "Hello, Dean. My name is Daniel, and this is my wife, Sonya."**

" **Hi," Dean said quietly, his voice croaking with fear.**

"Oh, poor baby," Padma cooed, forgetting that that 'baby' was now an eighteen year old boy sitting a few seats down from her with heated cheeks.

" **Tell me, Dean, what's your favorite thing to do?" Daniel asked. Dean shrugged. "Oh, c'mon, there's got to be something you like to do."**

 **Hesitantly, Dean looked up and met his eyes. Once again, Daniel's heart clenched at the pure fear that shined in his eyes. "I-I like to draw," he said quietly.**

"I think that 'like' is an understatement. I don't even know the color of the walls on your side of the dorm anymore, Dean," Seamus teased.

"Shut it."

"And your bags are filled with more sketchbooks than school books."

"I said shut it!"

 **Sonya's eye lit up and Daniel chuckled when he looked at her. "Oh, really? My wife here likes to draw too. Has a whole art studio at home."**

Hermione smiled sadly. She remembered when her mother used to draw before everything had gone . . . south

 **A small light came to Dean's eyes as he looked up at the woman. "Really?" he asked quietly, but there was a hint of excitement in his tone.**

 **Sonya nodded. "Yup. I have canvases upon canvases, and all different types of paints and pencils in all different colors. I have tons of sketchbooks just full of drawings. And I have clay that I use to make sculptures." As she spoke Dean began to get the far away look he had gotten when Hermione spoke of her meadow. "Do you like the sound of that?"**

" **Yes, ma'am," Dean said, a slight smile on his face.**

"I think he still likes the sound of that," Hermione giggled, looking at Dean's glassy eyes.

" **Do you like it here, Dean?" Daniel asked. Immediately the fear was back in the boys eyes as they widened and shot to Miss Hagitha fearfully. "It's okay, Dean, I won't let you get in trouble. You can tell me," Daniel said quietly, so only he could hear.**

 **Dean looked at him before hesitantly shaking head no. "No, sir. The kids here are very mean. And so is Fatty Haggy."**

 **Daniel couldn't help but snort at the name, causing Sonya to nudge him. "I'm sorry, but Fatty Haggy? How'd you come up with that?" he asked, laughing silently.**

 **Dean smiled a little. "She's fat and her name is Hagitha," he said, shrugging.**

"And people call Granger the genius," Draco snorted, and people chortled more in surprise that he had joked in a friendly manner than the joke itself.

 **Daniel snorted again before becoming serious once more. "Well, how would you like to come home with us and see that art studio?" he asked, sharing a confirming look with his wife.**

" **R-Really?" Dean asked incredulously, his eyes wide and unbelieving.**

" **Really," Daniel said, nodding. "We're a house of very different individuals. And like my daughter said, different people should be together, right?"**

"Is that like the Granger motto or something?" Theo asked.

"Yup," Hermione and Dean replied together.

" **Yes, sir," Dean said quietly, eyes still wide.**

" **Then would you like to come home with us?" Daniel asked.**

 **Dean looked at his kind smile, then at Sonya's gentle gaze, and finally at Hermione's wide excited eyes that practically begged him to say yes. And as he looked at her it was as if something inside of him clicked. Like a puzzle piece finally put into the right spot.**

"That's because she's the soulmate of my heart!" Dean proclaimed happliy, pulling Hermione in for a tight hug. The girls awed while the boys all just shook their head in amusement.

" **Yes," Dean said, still looking at Hermione.**

" **Yes?" Hermione said excitedly.**

" **Yes," Dean said, nodding.**

"Yes!" half the occupants of the room screamed excitedly, even though they all already guessed he had said yes.

 **Hermione squealed excitedly and threw herself into Dean's arms. Dean gasped as she hugged him tightly and hesitantly wrapped his own arms around her.**

 **Both Daniel and Sonya smiled happily at the scene. "Okay then," Daniel said, rising from his knee and turning towards Miss Hagitha. "Miss Hagitha, I would like the papers to adopt young Dean here, if you don't mind."**

" **Him?!" Miss Hagitha practically screeched, pointing at the boy, causing him to flinch and hold onto Hermione tighter.**

"Oh shut up you dumb troll!" Daphne hissed.

"She can't hear you," Millicent stage whispered, drawing a few surprised gasps.

"Well I'll hunt her down and make sure she can hear me loud and clear then!" Daphne said, drawing surprised looks from everyone.

" **Yes,** _ **him**_ **," Daniel said, his voice going cold. "Is there a problem?"**

" **Well** **一"**

" **Because if there is I have no problem calling Child Protective Services and getting it** _ **fixed**_ **."**

"Go Mr. Granger," Ron laughed.

 **Miss Hagitha paled at that and shook her head frantically. "No, no! No problem at all! Dean's a wonderful boy and I'm sure he'll make you all very happy!"**

" **It's not our concern whether he makes** _ **us**_ **happy," Sonya said, stepping close to the still hugging children so she can rest her hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's us that has to make sure** _ **he**_ **is happy."**

Dean couldn't help but flinch slightly at her words, and action no one but Hermione, Blaise, and Theo had caught.

 **Dean slowly smiled up at her, and finally it seemed like all fear and sadness had finally vanished from his eyes.**

"Thank Merlin," Hermione whispered happily.

 **The scene fades**

" **I got a brother. I got a brother," Hermione sang as she skipped up the street, holding Dean's hand as she led the way.**

"So cute," Hannah laughed.

 **Dean didn't mind the fact that she was practically dragging him along side her.**

"I better get used to it," Dean laughed.

 **His eyes could stop taking in his surroundings. All the cars, the buildings, the trees, the people, the bright sun. Everything was so new to him and he felt like he was walking through dream land. He never thought it'd happen where he'd be let outside, let alone adopted. But here he was, walking along the sidewalk to his new home holding his new sister's hand as his new parents trailed behind them.**

Everyone smiled. Though it was a shock to discover that Hermione Granger and Dean Thomas were actually siblings, after seeing their story they found themselves relieved that the two had found each other.

 **As the two older Granger's spoke happily behind them about new arrangements and preparations they'll have to make for Dean, Dean turned his eyes to the happily singing girl skipping beside him.**

" **Hey, Mia?" Dean said.**

 **Hermione turned to him in surprise, which soon faded into happiness, at the nickname. She knows she said he could call her that, but she didn't he would.**

" **Yes, Dean?" she asked sweetly.**

" **I just want you to know that you have a friend now," he said a bit shyly. "I'm going to be there for you, know matter what. And I'll make sure no one is ever mean to you again. I'll protect you. Promise."**

 **Hermione looked at him, eyes swelling with tears. For the second time that day she threw herself into his arms, and this time Dean didn't hesitate before hugging her tightly.**

" **I'll always be there for you, too," she said, tearfully. "Promise."**

The scene faded out and Dean turned to Hermione.

"I kept my promise, right?" he asked, a little bit of worry laced in his tone.

Hermione smiled and wrapped him in a tight hug. "To this very day."

 **There you have it folks! I hope it was worth the wait and that it's worth continuing! Y'all better throw away any expectations of what either one of their lives may be like, because you have no idea what's coming your way! Also, this subject is going to hit A LOT of touchy subjects, like you saw with the racism discussion. It won't be the last time you see that topic. I will be trying to hit every touchy topic available; abuse of all kinds, racism, sexual assault, depression, suicide, self harm, diseases, bullying, homosexuality, homophobia, gender confusion. ALL OF IT. I want to make this story as real as possible and I have a lot of characters I can use to do so. I think for me personally it's important to do so. I'm not going to let these topics consume my story, it's not going to be dark and depressing, but there will be rough moments here and there in their lives or I will simply touch on it and move on. I guess we'll see.**

 **Please review, I absolutely love hearing from you guys! It keeps me going!**

 **Love you lots,**

 **Oliviaa Rose**


	3. The New Nanny, Sorry, I Meant Caregiver

**Hey guys! Sorry for such a long wait for this chapter. It's very long and took a long time to construct. I'm sorry to say that these chapters, because I'm basically writing two stories in one, will take a while to upload. I hope you guys decide to stick around, though, because I'm very excited to share my version of Hermione's life with you all. In this chapter you will be meeting my FAVORITE OC character. I absolutely adore him and he will be a big part of this story. I hope you all fall in love with him like I do. With that said I present chapter three!**

 **xxXxx**

"So you guys are siblings," Harry said as the two separated from their embrace. He looked at Hermione. "Why did you keep that a secret? It's wonderful."

"It'll come up, I'm sure," Hermione said quietly.

"The next one's starting," Dean said quickly, drawing the attention away from Hermione and onto the floating screen.

" **Hermione Jean Granger and Dean Anthony Thomas, you get down here right now!" Dan shouted up the stairs, his face red in anger.**

"Oh ho ho, I know where this is going," Dean laughed. Hermione giggled, remembering this memory very clearly. Oh, the heart attacks they used to give their parents.

"What did you guys do?" Harry asked warily, looking at their father's red face.

"You'll see," Dean laughed.

 **He sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair for the tenth time. He couldn't believe they managed to do it again.**

"I have a feeling that this is going to be good," Seamus chuckled.

" **This has gotten ridiculous," Sonya cried as she paced back and forth. "What are we going to do now? That was the best one in all of the freaking country and they managed to get rid of that one too. What are we going to do?"**

"She already asked that," Susan laughed. "Whatever you two did got her really frazzled."

Hermione and Dean just gave them all innocent smiles.

" **We will figure it out," Dan said soothingly, taking her hands in his, stopping her pacing. "We always do."**

 **Sonya sighed and nodded her head. As she heard the sound of little footsteps coming down the stairs she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Dan kissed her forehead.**

"Your parents are so cute," Padma sighed, dreamily. "I wish I can have a love like that one day."

Everyone but Theo, Blaise, and Harry missed the way Hermione suddenly looked forlorn and the way Dean shot her a sad, sympathetic look.

 **They both looked up as Hermione and Dean entered the room. They both looked the same as in the last scene, the only difference being Dean looked much healthier. His hair was now perfectly trimmed, the bags under his eyes were gone, he no longer looked so pale and sickly thin, and his bruises were practically gone.**

"Oh, you look so much better!" Neville said happily. He hated seeing one of his best friends look so battered and bruised. It had hurt his heart knowing his best friend had once been in so much pain.

"Look at that cute little devil," Dean grinned.

"Emphasis on the devil," Hermione said cheekily.

Dean's grin widened. "You know it."

" **Hi Daddy," Hermione said sweetly, an adorable smile lighting up her face.**

"Nope," Theo said, shaking his head. "Nope, nope, nope, don't believe it. I've seen that look before. That one uses it all the time when she wants something or tries to get away with something," he said, nodding towards Daphne, who shot him an innocent look.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Theodore," Daphne said sweetly.

"Lies," Theo said immediately.

"I do not lie," Daphne said with fake offense.

"More lies," Theo scoffed. "You're all evil. Every last one of you."

"Theodore, dear, I am an angel."

"Yeah, a dark one," Theo muttered. Daphne smirked slyly at him, her smile looking quite cutting, but Theo just rolled his eyes.

Everyone stared at the pair, intrigued by the light banter. They had never seen Slytherins have such a normal, friendly conversation.

"You know," Seamus said slowly, staring at Daphne, "I'm both scared and turned on."

Daphne's smile instantly turned flirtatious as she looked at Seamus.

Draco snorted. "Welcome to our lives."

 **If Dan didn't know any better he'd never would have thought she did anything wrong.**

"Neither would anyone else," Harry snorted. He gave Hermione a teasing grin. "No one would actually believe that you are the mastermind behind most of our plans."

"No, no, no, no," Hermione said, shaking her head adamantly. " _You_ make the plans, I'm just there to clean up your mess and save your ass when they go south."

"Oh, really?" Harry asked challengingly, his eyebrows raised. "So it was _my_ idea to set Snape's robes on fire during my Quidditch game because you thought he was hexing my broom?"

"That was you?!" Draco exclaimed, shocked.

"It ended up saving your life in the end," Hermione said, ignoring Draco. "Even if it was the wrong person," she muttered.

"And was it _my_ idea to go back in time, save Buckbeak, break Sirius out, and call a werewolf towards me?"

"You weren't complaining when both Sirius and Buckbeak lived," Hermione said indignantly.

"And was it _my_ idea to jump on the back of a dragon and break out of Gringotts?" Harry continued as if he didn't hear her.

"No freaking way," Theo said in awe, staring down at Hermione.

"It was the only way to get out! It saved your life did it not?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Be that as it may, none of those were _my_ ideas. Those were all you," Harry said smugly. Hermione just huffed and crossed her arms with a pout. "Aw, you're too cute when you pout."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and started muttering about, "ungrateful, stupid boys."

"Okay, can we take a quick jump back to the whole 'jumped on a dragon' thing?" Theo asked, causing Hermione to glare at him. Theo just raised an eyebrow with a cheeky grin, and she huffed again.

"Boys," she muttered.

 **Luckily, he did know better.**

" **Hermione," Dan said sternly. Hermione winced a little before the innocent smile was back on her face.**

"That smile is Slytherin worthy," Daphne said, impressed.

"If _Daphne_ , queen of evil, says that, than it's true," Theo stage whispered sarcastically. Many people chuckled while Daphne glared at him.

 **Her father never called her by her name unless it was serious. It was always 'Mia Bear' or 'sweetheart'.**

Hermione smiled fondly, remembering when her father would call her 'Mia Bear'. She missed it.

" **Dean," Dan said, turning to the boy standing next to her. Dean looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes and a small charming smile.**

"Ah, so that look started off young," Parvati said, amused, and Dean shot her that very look.

" **Sit. Now."**

 **The two kids scrambled up onto the couch and sat down. As they looked up at them Dan took a moment to observe them. The two sat identically, backs straight, fingers interlocked on their laps, and smiles shining up at their parents.**

"That's the 'I definitely did something wrong but I'm going to make it seem like I'm an angel and hope for the best' stance," Ron chuckled. "I've seen the twins pull that off one too many times. They mastered it," he finished fondly, looking off faraway in memory. Everyone, even the Slytherins, stayed quiet to give him his moment. They all knew how Fred's death had affected the Weasley's, and even Draco Malfoy could sympathize their loss.

 **The way they sat was as if they rehearsed it. Well, they had been in this position enough to have that stature down pat.**

"Perfect Hermione Granger was a troublemaker?" Draco said, starting to look like Christmas had come early. Hermione rolled her eyes, not responding.

 **Dan sighed. When they had adopted Dean the Grangers had expected the kids to go out and play, for Hermione to have someone to read with, to talk and laugh with, to be friends with. The adoption didn't disappoint, Hermione and Dean were the best of friends, Hermione was happier than ever, and Dean was great.**

"Oh, guys, stop, I'm blushing!" Dean said dramatically, fanning his face, causing everyone to laugh.

 **Little did the Grangers know, though, that they weren't only getting her a best friend, but a partner in crime as well.**

Harry gasped, offended. "Hermione, I thought I was your partner in crime!" he cried dramatically.

Dean scoffed. "Please, I am the OG partner in crime," he said smugly, throwing an arm around her shoulders. Hermione rolled her eyes as the two boys continued to playfully bicker back and forth, but snuggled into Dean's side with a content smile.

" **This is the seventh one," Dan said, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "The** _ **seventh**_ **nanny that you both have chased off in less than a month."**

Everyone looked at the two in disbelief, while the two looked around with innocent smiles.

"Seven?" Blaise asked incredulously. "At four years old you managed to chase off seven nannies?"

The smiles on the two instantly turned mischievous.

" **Not just any nanny, Nanny** _ **Bates**_ **," Sonya stressed. "The best nanny in all of freaking England! She was the nanny of the** _ **royal family**_ **before the children got too old to need a nanny anymore. She's handled the worst of the worst kids and has been able to turn them into angels kissed by God! And yet, somehow, the two of you are able to chase her off in less than a week!"**

"A bit dramatic, your mum," Millicent said, amused.

Hermione scoffed. Dramatic wasn't a word that even began to describe her mother.

" **Then obviously she wasn't that great," Dean muttered, laughing lowly.**

"And there, ladies and gentlemen, is the famous Dean Thomas mouth," Seamus said dramatically, and Dean just grinned as everyone laughed.

 **Dan gave him a stern glare and he went quiet.**

 **Two months ago, when they had first brought Dean into their home, it wasn't long before his wall had come down. Though the boy had decided to keep his last name, to keep a part of his birth parents with him, it had been easy for Dean become one of the Grangers. Dean and Hermione were inseparable, always by each other's side, and Dean had kept up with his promise to protect her like a brother would. When he started school he immediately put a stop to the bullying, glaring and yelling at anyone that even dared look at her the wrong way. He had even fought a boy that pulled her hair,**

"Aw, how sweet," Hannah said. "Well, sweet in a violent way," she muttered, causing a few chuckles to echo around the room.

Blaise, Draco, and Theo all winced. They remembered Dean's temper when it came to his sister very well, thinking back to their first official meeting in second year. It had gone anything but smoothly and none of them wanted to ever repeat that.

 **which Dan had praised him for when they were out of earshot of Sonya.**

Hermione shook her head fondly at her father's actions.

 **Sonya had been so excited to have someone that loved art as much as she did, and the two spent at least an hour in her art studio everyday.**

It was Dean's turn to smile fondly. He missed the days when he and Sonya would spend hours in the studio laughing and making art. She always taught him something new and was the reason he was as good as he was today. Dean sighed. He wished he could get those days back.

 **They were all amazed at Dean's art skills at such a young age, and it wasn't long before his artwork covered the walls of her studio.**

"And soon the kitchen, his bedroom, my bedroom, the living room," Hermione said.

"And the dorm room," Seamus added.

"Some are even hanging in the common room," Neville said.

"Alright, alright, I get it," Dean said with a laugh.

 **Dan had immediately taken Dean under his wing, and it wasn't long before the boy looked up to him like an actual father. The two played sports, went hiking, played games, cooked together, read together, watched the telly, or just talked. Out of everyone Dean spoke to Dan the most about his time at the orphanage and 'Fatty Haggy's' treatment of the children, especially him.**

Draco winced, remembering Dean's earlier explosion. Did muggles really discriminate against people for their skin color? Draco shook his head. He needed to look more into this.

 **Dan was appalled and had immediately gotten to work to get the woman fired. Three weeks later the kids found themselves with a new caretaker when child protective services had caught Hagitha in the act of beating a child.**

"That's just awful," Hannah said sadly. "I'm glad your father helped those poor children."

"I see where Hermione gets her determination and kind heart," Harry said fondly and Hermione blushed as many people agreed with him.

 **Dan helped Dean try to move on from his past and get through the nightmares he had well after. Dean had even gotten into the habit of calling Dan 'Pops'. And as his father, Dan had taken it seriously to discipline him.**

" **Do you have any idea how hard it was to get her to be our Nanny? How many people we competed with?" Sonya exclaimed, waving her hands around. "How much** _ **money**_ **she cost us?!"**

" **Why?" Dan asked with a heavy sigh, his eyes resting on Hermione. He knew that she was the mastermind behind all their ideas. She always was.**

"See!" Harry said, pointing up at the image of her father smugly.

"Shut it, Potter," Hermione said.

 **Hermione was the brains and Dean was the brawn. The perfect troublemaking pair.**

"She's a troublemaker," Draco laughed, looking like an excited child. "I always knew it!"

"Shut it, Malfoy," Hermione growled with no real animosity in her voice.

 **They had managed to get rid of thirteen nannies.**

"Thirteen?!" Blaise exclaimed, his eyes wide. "How? How?! I couldn't even get rid of the one house elf that was constantly up my ass! How in the name of fuck do you get rid of _thirteen_ nannies?!"

Once again Hermione and Dean just grinned mischievously.

 **Hoping that Nanny Bates would have been different had been wishful thinking.**

 **Hermione frowned and looked down at her hands. "I didn't like her. She was snippy and mean. She hated it when we would play and never let us outside. She made the worst things for us to eat. She tried to make me eat fish and broccoli! Broccoli! Everyone knows that I hate broccoli, it's the worst vegetable ever!"**

"Wow," Ron said. "You know out of all the reasonings I've heard Hermione give for doing something this one takes the cake."

Hermione glared at him as everyone laughed and stuck out her tongue.

"What do you have against broccoli?" Theo asked, amused.

"It's disgusting, and weird shaped, and its top is too close to Dean's hair to be comfortable to eat," Hermione huffed, and everyone burst into laughter.

" **It really is," Dean added, nodding.**

" **And I told her this, and what does she do? Makes me eat broccoli** _ **every day**_ **! It's inhumane. It's child abuse!"**

" **It's cruel and unusual punishment," Dean adds once again.**

"So, I see dramaticism runs in the family," Theo said, amused. Hermione glared at him as well. "Aw, what? I don't get a tongue stuck out me too? Well that's just unfair. And here I thought we were warming up to each other."

Hermione resisted the smile that wanted to come to her face. Instead she just rolled her eyes and looked away from his annoying smirk..

" **And she made us go to bed at seven o'clock! Who goes to bed at seven? And she refused to let Dean sleep with me. Said it was a sin for boys and girls to share beds until they were married and that she didn't need anymore little brats running around. What does that even mean? He's my brother, why would I marry him?!"**

At this everyone burst into loud laughter. Hermione blushed, her older self understanding _exactly_ what the nanny had meant.

"Oh, so little and so innocent," Seamus laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. "Too cute."

"Shut it, Finnigan," Hermione grumbled.

"Aw, you two shared a bed?" Padma asked.

Dean nodded with no shame or embarrassment. "I slept in her bed so much that within my first three months there they just moved my bed into her room. Stayed there until I turned thirteen." All the girls cooed and now Dean was blushing lightly, though luckily his dark skin hid it.

 **Dan had to stop the laugh that almost burst from him at her confused and appalled expression.**

" **And she never let Dean draw! Said 'young men shouldn't be doodling in some notebook! There's no future in that! If it was my way you'd be out in the fields working! Not home dilly dallying with silly nonsense doodles!'"**

" **She ripped my drawing of Mia and me," Dean said sadly, looking down at his lap. The Grangers felt their hearts hurt at the sight of his crestfallen face.**

The sentiment was shared around the room as they watched his small face droop sadly.

"What the fuck? What woman would do that to a kid?" Millicent said angrily.

"Bitch," Blaise muttered, causing a small quirk to come to Dean's lips.

Seamus frowned as he looked at the younger version of his best friend. Dean was such a happy, go-lucky person that when he was angry or sad it took him by surprise because they were emotions he didn't show often. Seamus had decided a long time ago that he didn't like any expression that wasn't positive on his best friend's face. Seeing his little four year old self so sad made his heart break, and he wanted to hunt down the stupid nanny that put that expression there.

 **They hated the sight of their children sad and hated that they had been so unhappy, but that didn't excuse their behaviour.**

" **She was awful!" Hermione exclaimed.**

" **Be that as it may, you still handled the situation wrongly.**

"Sounds like a disapproving Hermione," Ron said, shuddering.

"Well, considering that is her father . . ."

"Shut up, Finch-Fletchy."

 **Really now, putting worms in her soup?" Dan said in exasperation.**

" **She's slimy, so I figured more slime wouldn't hurt her," Hermione shrugged.**

Scoffs and guffaws echoed around the room at the mouth on little Hermione.

"So she was born snippy. Duly noted," Draco drawled. He made a surprised noise when the girl stuck her tongue out at him, but smirked, amused.

"He get's your tongue stuck out at him, but not me?" Theo exclaimed dramatically, hand clutching his chest. "That hurts, Granger. Hurts deep."

Hermione rolled her eyes again and turned back to the screen, once again ignoring his smirk.

" **Throwing paint filled balloons at her from the balcony?" Sonya said.**

" **I thought it may help her appreciate my art more," Dean said happily.**

"SAVAGE!" Millicent yelled, offering Dean a high five from where she sat next to Theo. Dean stared at the hand, surprised and taken aback, before grinning widely and high fiving her.

" **Crabs in her pants . . . really?!" Dan exclaimed incredulously.**

" **Well she's always so crabby," Hermione said.**

" **And constantly on** _ **our**_ **arses, so," Dean mumbled.**

"My respect for the both of you just shot right through the roof," Draco chortled. Hermione gave him a small smile. They were a long way away from being friends, but Hermione could see that Dean's words had gotten to him at least a little bit and he was making a small effort to calm down. She could appreciate the effort. Hermione had never been one to hold a grudge for long. If Draco was willing to be friendly then she was too.

" **Dean!" Sonya shouted, appalled. "Language!"**

" **Well, it's true," he mumbled.**

 **Hermione looked at her father. "She had to go!"**

"You know if Hermione says someone has to go then they have to go," Harry laughed.

Hermione smiled smugly. "Glad we all learned that I get what I want." Suddenly her smile disappeared. "Or else," she said with fire behind her eyes. Everyone took a deep breath in, suddenly wary of the change of attitude. Suddenly a bright smile lit up her face and she turned to the screen as if she hadn't just freaked everyone out.

"Savage," Millicent said simply, nodding her head and shrugging her shoulders as if there was no other explanation. "Savage."

 **Dan sat on the coffee table in front of them so that he was at eye level with Hermione. "If you hated her so much why didn't you just tell us? That would have been the right way to handle this."**

" **Because you never listened to me!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "I've tried in the past, with the first few nannies. I tried to tell you both how awful they were and you ignored me. You were too busy with work to even listen to me or too desperate to fire her. So, I took things into my own hands."**

"You're starting to sound like Harry," Ron laughed.

Harry scowled at him. "Well, no one does listen to me!" he said, throwing up his hands.

 **Dan looked at her guiltily, knowing that everything she was saying was true. Hermione had complained multiple times in the past about how awful her nannies were, but they had passed it off as her being like any other kid that didn't like being babysat. She also didn't like that they worked so much, but when you own your own company you have to work a lot to keep it running. It was this reason that they needed a nanny in the first place, seeing as they were both four and couldn't stay home alone. But with Hermione constantly sending the nannies running, it made running their dentistry even harder.**

"Dentistry?" Blaise asked.

"Dentists are people who work on your teeth. They fix them," Dean replied. Blaise looked at him, shocked he answered him, but nodded, not pushing his luck.

 **Dan shared a look with his wife, who looked crestfallen. They hadn't meant to put their daughter's feeling on the back burner, they just hadn't known what to do.**

 **Dan sighed and turned back to Hermione. Taking her hands in his he said, "Listen, I know times have been tough. With the dentistry starting to boom and the limited amount of employees we currently have, we can't be home as much as we want to be. I'm sorry we didn't listen to you in the past, Mia Bear, we just didn't know what else to do. But we** _ **need**_ **someone to look after you both while we're at work."**

 **Hermione pouted,**

Hermione could practically feel Theo smirking from beside her and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

 **still obviously not happy with not only having to get a new nanny, but also still not being able to spend time with her parents. Dean threw his arm around her shoulders, not liking seeing her so upset.**

Dean, who still held Hermione to his side, hugged her to him and placed a sweet kiss to her forehead. Instantly Hermione felt a sense of calm wash through her, an effect only Dean and Calvin had on her.

Everyone watched them, still getting used to the sudden show of affection between the two of them.

" **How about we compromise," Dan suggested, causing both of them to look up at him. "When we interview the nannies you can be there as well and** _ **you**_ **can decide who you want as your nanny."**

 **Hermione's eyes immediately lit up and Dean slowly grinned.**

"Oh, Merlin. Good luck with that, Mr. Granger," Harry laughed, knowing just how stubborn his best friend was when it came to getting what she wanted and it being perfect.

 **Dan smiled, feeling like he just took a step in the right direction.**

"Did you, though?" Draco asked, and Harry snorted. They both looked at each other in surprise before looking away.

" **Deal?" he asked.**

 **Hermione and Dean looked at one another, having a silent conversation with their eyes. Dan looked at them fondly. He was so happy with how close they had gotten in just two months. "Deal," they said, turning back to him.**

 **Dan grinned. "It's a deal then. Now it's just a matter of actually finding a nanny that will** _ **want**_ **to look after you. You have** _ **quite**_ **the reputation."**

 **Instantly the innocent smiles were back on their faces, and Dan scoffed.**

 ***Scene Change***

" **That is the fourth one you have denied," Dan groaned,**

"Called it," Harry laughed.

 **rubbing his forehead from where he leaned on the island in the middle of the kitchen front of Hermione and Dean, who sat on the other side eating some fruit snacks.**

"Ugh, fruit snacks," Dean and Hermione groaned in need and everyone laughed at them.

" **Do you know how hard it is to even** _ **find**_ **people to even consider watching you two troublemakers?"**

" **That last one had one eyebrow!" Dean exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "Who trusts a girl with one eyebrow?!"**

"Honestly," Lavender agreed, shuddering in horror.

 **Dan groaned again and dropped his head onto the counter.**

" **Don't worry, Daddy, we'll find the right one," Hermione said calmly, smushing together two different fruit gummies together before popping them in her mouth. "They're coming, I feel it."**

"Okay, Luna," Theo teased.

Hermione just stared at him. "I'm not sticking my tongue out at you."

"Come _on_ ," he groaned and Hermione laughed.

" **Well, can you tell them to hurry up?" Dan asked, raising his head and giving her a defeated look. "I'm getting grey hairs waiting for them."**

" **Oh, Daddy, I don't know who it is yet," Hermione said, giggling. "Besides, you already had grey hairs."**

"SAVAGE!" Millicent and Dean yelled together and high fived again, grinning massively. Hermione blushed, but laughed along with the rest of the room at their antics.

 **Dan glared as Dean laughed. "Maybe it's because I deal with the troublesome duo everyday."**

" **Is that what they're calling us?" Dean asked, dumping a whole bag of fruit snack in his mouth. "Tha's freally vad," he said with his mouth full.**

"What's _bad_ is the food falling from your mouth, mate."

"Shut up, Seamus."

 **Hermione wrinkled her nose at him before turning back to her father.**

"She agrees with me."

"Shut up, Seamus."

 **He almost groaned again when he saw the small determination shining in her eyes.**

Everyone who were close to her groaned and she smirked.

" **Like I said, Daddy, they'll come."**

 **Dan sighed. "I hope so, Mia Bear."**

 ***Scene Change***

 **Dan hurried through the streets from the grocery market, carrying multiple bags in his hands. With all the hype of the past week, with juggling looking after the kids, looking for a new nanny, and managing the dentistry, they forgot about taking care of their basic needs. The kitchen was empty of food and they were down to their last roll of toilet paper. So while Sonya was home watching the kids on her break, Dan, who worked later that night, quickly ran to the grocery store to buy some things. The Granger's lived right next to the town and the grocery store was only a five minute walk, so they usually just walked.**

"It must be nice having such a homey neighborhood," Millicent said almost dreamily.

Hermione looked at her with a kind smile. "Maybe you can come and see it some time," Hermione offered.

Millicent smiled shyly and nodded in agreement. A few seats down Pansy scowled and huffed angrily. What was happening to all her friends? Why were they all being so friendly to the enemy all of a sudden? She shook her head. They would be having a meeting come lunch time.

 **Dan was now regretting not driving because the lady in front of him at the cash register had taken forever because she was having card issues, so now he was running late and Sonya's break ended soon. Today was an extremely busy day in the office and she couldn't afford to be too late.**

" **Come on, Mr. Briggs!" a shout jerked Dan from his musings and his head snapped up. As he was approaching a cafe called 'Cup O' Briggs' he saw old Sean Briggs, the owner, dragging a boy by the neck of his shirt out of the cafe.**

"Oh, here we go," Dean said excitedly, sitting up.

"Who's that?" Ron asked.

Neither one answered, too busy looking up at the screen with bright smiles.

 **The boy was tall and lean with a little bit of muscles. His skin was as dark as Dean's and his head was cleanly shaved. He had brownish green eyes that looked up at Mr. Briggs desperately.**

"Well, hello," Parvati said with a flirty smile, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "He is _fine_." Beside her Lavender and Padma nodded in agreement. Hermione scrunched her nose at their hungry expressions and groaned at the interrogation she knew she would get later.

 **With a grunt Mr. Briggs threw the boy onto the sidewalk. "Get the hell out of my cafe, boy, and don't ever come back!"**

" **I didn't come onto your daughter Mr. Briggs!" the boy shouted desperately, picking himself up. "She cornered me in the break room! She's been coming onto me for months, but I've been denying her. I promise!"**

" **Don't lie about my daughter to me, boy! I know the type of girl she is," Mr. Briggs growled menacingly.**

"Mr. Briggs was always a mean, nasty old man," Dean grimaced.

"That's why his cafe closed," Hermione said, "because no one wanted to work for him and he was mean to customers.

" **I'm not lying, Mr. Briggs, I swear! I need this job. I have bills to pay! I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize it!** _ **Please**_ **, I really need this job!" the boy cried, his eyes wide with desperation.**

"Aw, poor boy," Hannah said quietly, and Neville patted her hand.

" **You should have thought about that before forcing yourself onto my daughter!"**

" **I didn't force myself on her, she forced herself on me!" the boy shouted and Dan immediately knew he was telling the truth. The desperation in his voice was too real to be a lie.**

Hermione smiled. Her father had always been able to see the truth and good in people.

" **Bah!" the old man yelled, turning away from the boy and stomping back towards the cafe. "Get the hell off my property, you mutt. You're fired!"**

"That's so mean! He didn't have to call him a mutt!" Daphne growled.

 **Dan watched as the boy's face crumbled and his heart hurt as he watched the boy try to hold back tears.**

"It's okay, baby, I'll take care of you," Pansy purred, and Hermione tried hard not to gag.

 **The boy gave a heavy sigh and hung his head in defeat. He turned and slowly started to walk away, his whole body sagging. Dan trailed after him as he walked through the crowd that had formed around him, watching the scene.** _ **I'm not following him,**_ **Dan thought to himself,** _ **He's merely going the same way that leads to my house.**_

"Sounds pretty reasonable to me," Ernie joked.

 **As Dan trailed behind the boy, a gut feeling telling him he needed to continue behind him, he saw the boy come to a stop and stare at something in front of him. Following his line of sight he saw another boy, a few years older than his children, sitting on the curb, crying softly.**

"Everyone is just so sad," Hannah said softly, her own eyes sad. "I just want to give them all a hug." Neville smiled softly at her. Hermione smirked at her friend. His feelings couldn't be more obvious.

 **The boy he'd been following slowly made his way over to the younger child.**

" **Hello," he said gently, and the younger boy jumped. He looked up at the teenager with sad eyes and whispered a soft 'hi'. "What's got you so sad, mate?"**

 **The younger boy sniffled and said, "The man in the ice cream shop was very mean to me. He yelled at me saying that I didn't have enough money."**

"There's a lot of rude old men in this town," Terry Boot said, speaking for the first time.

Hermione laughed. "Mostly just business owners. They think because they have their own businesses they're all big and bad."

"That's ridiculous," Terry laughed, shaking his head.

 **The older boy frowned. "Well that's not very nice. How much was it?"**

" **Three pounds. I only have one," the young boy said sadly, holding out a crinkled bill.**

 **The older boy frowned again and reached into his pocket. Dan watched as the older boy dragged out three crinkled bills from his pocket. He started at them for a moment before sighing and placing them in the boy's hand. "Here, take these."**

 **The boy's eyes immediately lit up and he scrambled to his feet. "Really?" the boy asked excitedly, looking up at the teenager with wide eyes.**

 **The older boy nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. Someone should be happy today."**

"Oh my god, that's so sweet!" Padma exclaimed happily. Hermione smiled.

" **Thank you, sir!" the boy squealed, hugging him around the waist.**

 **The older boy smiled again and patted his head. "You're welcome, mate. Go get your ice cream." The boy nodded happily and ran into the shop.**

 **Dan decided now was the perfect time to speak up. "That was a very kind thing you just did." The boy jumped and turned towards him with curious eyes. "Were those your last few bills?"**

 **The boy shrugged. "I have a few left."**

"That's all he had?" Anthony Goldstein spoke up. "Man, he's got a good heart."

 **Dan nodded. "That was quite the fiasco back there," he said, motioning towards the cafe.**

 **The boy looked at him, obviously embarrassed. "Saw that, did you?"**

" **I'm pretty sure the whole town saw it."**

"Subtle," Hermione laughed at her father.

" **Listen, I didn't touch that girl, okay?" the boy suddenly exclaimed, becoming defensive. "She came onto me. She was mad I had been ignoring all her defenses and forced herself on me. I tried to get her off but** **一"**

" **Hey, hey, hey," Dan said, raising his hands up in surrender. "I'm not accusing you of anything. I believe you."**

" **You do?" the boy asked, surprised.**

"People always assume the girl is the victim," Tracy Davis said quietly, shaking her head. "That's not always the case."

 **Dan nodded. "You can't fake the desperation I saw in your eyes." the boy looked down at his feet, defeated. "What's your name, son?"**

 **The boy looked up at him and stared at him for a moment, as if searching for something. "Calvin Rhodes, sir."**

"Calvin," Harry said, turning to Hermione. "Is that the Calvin you two keep bringing up?"

Hermione smiled brightly and looked up at the teenage boy with love shining through her eyes. Harry turned back to the screen, interested in how this boy comes to be in his best friend's life.

" **Calvin," Dan said, nodding. "Well I'm Daniel Granger, It's a pleasure to meet you." Calvin nodded in greeting, shuffling his feet. "If you don't mind my prying, son, back there you said that you have bills to pay. Now, you don't look more than seventeen."**

" **I'm sixteen, sir," the boy said quietly. "I live on my own."**

"What?!" was the shout that echoed loudly around the room.

 **Dan reeled back, not expecting that answer. "What? How is that possible?"**

" **Emancipation," Calvin said, not meeting Dan's eyes and playing with his fingers. "My dad died a few years back and my mom kind of went off the rails. Started drinking and partying. She'd bring guys back a lot. Well, a few months ago this one guy that she's been seeing for a few months started hitting her and I defended her. We got into a fight and when she managed to pry us apart he said she had to choose between him or me." Calvin shrugged sadly. "She chose him."**

Shocked silence filled the room.

"Oh my Merlin," Daphne said quietly.

"That's so sad," Draco added.

"What parent would choose a lover over their kid?" Ron asked, horrified. He thought of his mum and how she would give up her life for all of her children. Hell, she _had_ almost given up her life for them during the war. In that moment he felt an immense amount of appreciation and love for his mum.

 **Dan felt an immense amount of sympathy for the boy. To lose your father and then have your mother turn on you? He couldn't imagine anything like that ever happening to his kids.**

Again, the two winced, and again, Harry, Theo, and Blaise all caught it. Now they were becoming worried. Right now their lives seemed to be going great. What happened in the fourteen years leading up to their present selves that were making them react such a way?

" **So that night I packed my bags and left. I used my college savings to buy a shabby apartment, but I'm running out of money, which is why I really needed that job." Calvin shook his head sadly, looking at Cup O' Briggs. "I don't know what I'm going to do now. It was hard enough getting** _ **that**_ **job."**

A lot of the rich purebloods looked down awkwardly. They knew that when they graduated, even if they decided not to work, they would be set for life. Watching this boy made most of them realize just how lucky they were that they didn't have to worry about ever being poor.

 **Immediately the idea popped into his head, and he suddenly understood why his interest had been peaked by this boy.**

"Oh, I know where this is going," Anthony said with a happy smile.

 **As he observed the boy he couldn't help but think he'd be the perfect fit. Mostly because he was desperate and Dan was desperate,**

"Is this like the whole 'you're different, I'm different' thing?" Theo asked sarcastically, and Hermione nodded happily.

 **but besides that something about the boy just gave Dan a good gut feeling, and one of the Granger's mottos was to always trust your gut feeling.**

"You guys have _a lot_ of mottos," Draco chuckled.

Hermione shrugged. "They're what helped us get through life."

" **Calvin do you like kids?" Dan asked.**

 **Calvin immediately looked at him, eyes curious. "Um, yeah. I'm friends with most of the kids in this town. Sometimes I volunteer to read to younger kids at the library." Hearing this Dan grinned widely.**

"Oh, now I know where this is going," Blaise chuckled, giving Hermione a teasing grin. Hermione once again stuck her tongue out.

Theo huffed. "This is just getting insulting," he muttered, and Hermione couldn't help but grin a little.

" **Why?" the boy said cautiously after seeing his grin.**

" **I have two kids and I desperately need someone to watch over them. I'll pay you good and I'll even do you one better. I have a spare room in my house, it's yours if you want it."**

 **Calvin looked at him with wide eyes, not believing what he was saying. "You want to hire me as your . . . nanny?**

"Are you serious," Draco snorted.

 **Are you serious?"**

"See, he didn't believe it either," Draco smirked, and many laughed, mostly just shocked that he could be funny in a non-malicious way.

" **More serious than I've ever been in my entire life," Dan said. At Calvin's suspicious expression Dan sighed. "Listen, son, you seem like a good kid with a good heart. You gave up your last few bills to make that kid happy. That's the kind of person I need in my kids' lives. You're in a tough spot, you're only sixteen and you've been forced into this adult life. Let me help you and you'll be helping me. I'll pay you good with just a small fee for housing, but that'll hardly make a dent, you don't have to worry about bills or food, the room has it's own bathroom, and if my kids like you then you'll have the time of your life."**

"With Hermione, life is always an adventure," Harry said fondly. Hermione smiled at him.

 **Calvin looked him up and down a few times, eyes still suspicious. "How do I know that you're not just some creep trying to kidnap me or some other freaky stuff?" he asked.**

"He has a valid point," Terry laughed.

"He'll fit right in. He's just as dramatic as the rest of you," Theo laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes and smacked his shoulder.

 **Dan barked out a laugh, but he couldn't blame the boy's suspicions. He had just met him two minutes ago and already he was offering him a job to watch over some kids. Yeah, it was a little weird. Dan reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it he handed it to Calvin, who looked down at the picture of his family inside. "My wife, Sonya, and my kids, Hermione and Dean."**

"He carries a picture of you all around? That's so sweet," Daphne said almost longingly. Daphne had never been close to her parents. Though they had been neutral in the war, that had mostly just been to save their own asses. They strongly believed in blood purity, a sentiment she never shared and made clear in their house. If it wasn't for the publicity it would cause, she would have been disowned a long time ago. She had always wished her parents would be as loving towards her and Astoria as Dan Granger was towards Hermione and Dean.

 **Calvin stared down at the picture silently. His eyes softened as he took in the family of four, laughing and smiling in the picture. Dan watched as Calvin ran his thumb lightly over the image of Hermione and he smiled as Calvin let out a small sigh.**

" **You have a gut feeling," Dan stated knowingly. Calvin didn't look up from the picture, but he didn't have to. "Us Grangers believe in our gut feelings. If we get one we** _ **always**_ **listen to it and follow it."**

"It's never led me wrong, Daddy," Hermione said quietly. Dean tightened his hold on her and Theo looked down at her worriedly.

 **Finally Calvin looked up and met his eyes. Dan could see the small amount of hope and fear shining in his eyes, and he knew the answer before the boy did.**

 ***Scene Change***

" _ **Are you sure this is a good idea? You don't even know who this boy is,"**_ **Sonya said through the phone.**

"What's a phone?" Tracy asked shyly.

"It's this little device people use to communicate. Instead of writing letters and waiting for a response you can talk to them right there through the phone wherever you are," Hermione said kindly.

"That . . . is very convenient," Draco said reluctantly.

 **It had been three hours since Dan came home all giddy and bouncing on his feet.**

"You're just like him," Dean laughed. "When you get all excited over something you're all giddy and bouncing all over the place." Hermione blushed, but laughed as well.

 **Sonya, too much in a rush to get back to work, had to wait for a moment to breathe before she could call her husband and find out what had made him so excited.**

" **Yes, dear. My gut has never led me wrong. It led me towards you, did it not?" Dan laughed as he finished preparing the pasta for tonight.**

" _Smooth_ ," Blaise said, looking highly impressed.

 **He hoped making Hermione's favorite dish would make her meeting Calvin over dinner go a little smoother.**

"Ugh, I love pasta," Millicent said happily.

 **Sonya laughed through the phone.** " _ **Be that as it may, shouldn't you have maybe done a background check on the boy first before having him meet our children? Make sure there's nothing bad about him?"**_

" **I did, as soon as I got home. Squeaky clean, which is not surprising. He doesn't peg me as the violent type."**

Hermione and Dean shared a look and scoffed. Sure Calvin wasn't violent, but when he was mad . . . jeez, he was a tornado.

" _ **But what if**_ _ **一"**_

" **Sonya," he said with a laugh. "Do you trust me?"**

" _ **Of course I do, you goof,"**_ **Sonya sighed.**

" **Then trust that I know what I'm doing."**

 **Sonya sighed again.** " _ **I do, I do. I just worry. They're my babies."**_

Both Hermione and Dean smiled, but their smiles were almost sad.

 **Dan smiled fondly. "I understand that, but this'll work out. I promise."**

" _ **Okay,"**_ **Sonya said reluctantly.** " _ **I'm trusting you with this decision."**_

" **I've never led you wrong before," Dan said softly.**

" _ **No, you haven't,"**_ **Sonya said lovingly, and Dan smiled.** " _ **I have to go, but I will see you later tonight."**_

" **Okay. I love you, my dear."**

" _ **I love you, too."**_

 **Dan sighed happily and hung up the phone. Placing it down on the counter Dan started scooping the pasta into some bowls and setting them around the table. Calvin would be there any moment. Hopefully. Earlier that day when Dan had offered Calvin the job, the boy still seemed to be hesitant. So Dan had invited him over to dinner that night to see the house and meet the kids. After a bit of hesitation Calvin had agreed. Dan had then gone on to explain the deal he made with Hermione and Calvin had been very amused, much to Dan's relief.**

 **The sound of the doorbell rang through the house and Dan gave a huge sigh of relief. Rushing to the door and jerked it open and was happy to see Calvin nervously standing on the other side.**

" **Calvin, glad you could make it. Come in, come in," Dan said jovially, motioning Calvin inside.**

"Your father is funny," Padma said with a light smile. "He's always so happy and excitable, and when he's not he's dramatic."

Everyone laughed, agreeing with her, and Hermione smiled brightly.

" **Nice place, Mr. Granger," Calvin said, looking around. "It's very homey."**

"It really is," Seamus said quietly, looking at the screen fondly. Harry narrowed his eyes for a moment, before dropping his suspicions and turning back to the scene.

" **Thank you. All my wife's doing," Dan laughed. Going towards the stairs he yelled, "Kids, Calvin is here!"**

" **Daddy, there's no need to yell," Hermione spoke from behind him, and the two older males jumped, neither one noticing the two small children entering the foyer. "We're right here."**

 **Dan looked at the incredulously. "Where did you both just come from?"**

" **Outside," they both said.**

" **When did you go outside?" Dan asked, confused. He had been in the kitchen since he got home and hadn't not once seen them gone through the back door.**

 **Hermione smiled sweetly. "Hours ago, Daddy. We walked right by you."**

 **Dan looked even more confused. "How do I not remember this?**

"Here it comes, I feel it," Millicent said with an excited smile.

 **Hermione giggled. "Because you're getting old, Daddy. It's okay though, it's a part of life."**

"SAVAGE!" she yelled again, and once again her and Dean high fived.

"So this is a thing, now?" Hermione asked, motioning between the two. "This is happening?"

"Oh it happened, sat down, drank some tea, ate some crumpets, rode a dragon, died, came back to life, and happened again," Dean said, high fiving Millicent for the ten thousandth time.

Everyone laughed at their antics and Hermione shook her head happily.

 **Behind Dan came a loud laugh and everyone turned to an amused Calvin. He stared down at her as she met his eyes head on, and Dan watched as his eyes almost seemed to gloss over as he looked at her.**

Ron glanced over at Hermione. He could relate to Calvin. Hermione just seemed to have that effect on people, where she just captured your attention and made you become attached. He sighed. He had screwed up. He did the stupidest thing he could do and broke her heart. Ron regretted it everyday because a big part of his heart still belonged to her. He knew he'd never get her back, and now all he wanted was for her to be happy. He looked towards a few guys that had also looked her way. If her being happy meant she ended up in another's arms then he'd put his own wants aside for once and let her be happy.

" **Hello, are you Calvin?" Hermione asked politely with a sweet smile. Dan looked at the smile closely. She had three different types of 'sweet smiles'. The one that means she's up to no good, the one that means she's upset and trying to hide it, and the real one that means she's actually happy.**

As if on cue everyone turned to look at the girl. She blushed prettily and smiled smally.

"Or the embarrassed one," Dean chuckled, kissing the crown of her head.

 **Dan looked surprised as he saw that she was wearing a real sweet smile. She never wore that smile when meeting a new nanny.**

"Gut feeling?" Theo whispered to her. Hermione smiled and nodded.

" **Yes, I am. Are you Hermione?" Calvin said gently, going down on one knee.**

 **Hermione slowly started inching towards him. "Yes, I am," she said confidently. "So you want to be my new nanny?"**

 **Calvin grinned. "I prefer the title 'Caregiver'. 'Nanny' is just very . . . old," he chortled, looking up at Dan, who shot him a light glare.**

 **Hermione's eyes narrowed. "And how old are you?"**

" **Sixteen."**

" **Aren't you a little young to be a 'caregiver'," she asked mockingly, using air quotes.**

Seamus sighed dreamily. "Merlin, I love the Hermione sass," he said, gaining a few chuckles around the room.

" **Aren't you a little young to be able to chase away thirteen nannies?" Calvin shot back with just as much sass.**

"Shots fired," Justin laughed.

"Oh, he'll fit right in with you guys," Harry chuckled.

 **Dan watched the interaction in awe. With the past four nannies they interviewed Hermione had simply let Dan and Sonya interview them before giving a simple 'no' when it came to decision time and walking away.**

Draco snorted. "Always straight to the point, Granger."

 **Never had she interacted with them herself.**

 **Hermione eyed Calvin curiously as she continued to inch her way towards him. "You know I get to decide whether you stay or not, right?" she said matter-of-factly.**

 **Calvin grinned, watching her process. "I do. So, what's your terms and agreements?" he asked, unfazed.**

 **Hermione quirked an eyebrow and she looked so adorable trying to look intimidating that Calvin got the strongest urge to hug her.**

Dean sighed. "The good old days where your intimidation tactics came off as cute instead of deadly."

Hermione smirked. "I've come a long way," she laughed.

" **You let us play," she began.**

" **Only if I can play with you," Calvin said seriously.**

" **You let us go outside."**

" **We can take walks, especially to the park."**

" **You NEVER feed us broccoli."**

"You're still hung up on that broccoli, huh?" Harry laughed.

"It's disgusting and should be banned from this universe!" Hermione exclaimed, pouting as everyone laughed.

" **Now that's just cruel and unusual punishment."**

" **That's what I said!" Dean perked from behind Hermione, and Calvin shot him a grin.**

" **No fish."**

" **I prefer them in tanks."**

" **And absolutely no nuts, I'm allergic."**

"Are you really?" Harry asked, surprised. Hermione nodded. Harry suddenly felt bad for never knowing that. How had he never known that?

" **I don't even like nuts, so you're in luck."**

" **You let Dean draw and you never rip up his drawings."**

" **I would never ruin a kid's artistic flow. If I do that who would we have to make this world so beautiful?" Calvin said, shooting Dean a gentle smile, who returned it with a shy one of his own.**

"I hope your mural comes up," Hermione whispered and Dean grinned.

 **Hermione stared at him calculatingly, but Dan could see her walls slowly coming down.**

" **You let us watch the telly."**

" **I'd be an awful person not to let kids watch the telly."**

" **You let me read my books when I want to."**

" **I admire smart girls."**

" **And sometimes you read with me," Hermione said, now standing right in front of him.**

 **It took all of Calvin's strength not to draw her into a tight hug and coddle her. "I'd be honored," he said.**

Hermione smiled lovingly up at one of her favorite people on this earth. He had always been good to her.

" **And you never, ever be mean to me or Dean," she said quietly and timidly.**

Most people in the room shifted, uncomfortable, as they saw the insecurity resting in the young girl's eyes. Many of them had been guilty of bullying her at one point or another, even her two best friends, just because she was different. Knowing Hermione now most, if not all, regretted it, especially knowing how much she was bullied as a child.

 **Seeing her wide eyes become vulnerable broke his heart and Calvin could no longer resist the temptation to draw her into his arms. Hermione gasped in surprise but soon a warm, calm feeling took over her body and she snuggled into his warmth. Calvin opened his arm to Dean, who hesitantly made his way over and was immediately pulled into his arms as well.**

" **I promise," Calvin said softly, hugging the two tightly to his chest.**

"Oh my God, so precious," Hannah said softly.

 **He couldn't explain it, but the moment he had entered the house he felt an immediate sense of belonging. Like this was where he was supposed to be. And when he had laid eyes on Hermione and Dean he felt his world tip upside down. His body stilled and his eyes wouldn't stray from their form. Looking at them he felt the breath leave his lungs. He knew he wouldn't be able to breathe again unless he got closer, unless he was with them, unless he was holding them close. He had never felt that way ever in his life, and the sudden feeling of need confused him. But when the two were finally in his arms his body sagged in relief. He felt a wholeness come about his loins, almost like he was . . . complete. He didn't understand it, but Calvin was a man that asked very few questions. He believed everything happened for a reason, and he knew that he was just meant to be here, with them, and nowhere else.**

A lot of people in the room sighed longingly. A lot of them, mostly the Slytherins, didn't have a lot of people they could call family. They all relied on one another for the most part. To see such an instant connection of obvious love made all their hearts yearn.

" **You're hired," Hermione said softly into his chest.**

"Yes!" everyone shouted excitedly, even though they all saw it coming. But it was still very exciting to actually see it happening.

 **Dan, who had heard her, gaped in surprise. "He . . . he is?!" he asked, his tone full of joy and shock. He didn't think this meeting would have gone so smoothly, but he'd be damned if he'd question it. "Great. Great! Then who's up for dinner?"**

 ***Scene Change***

 **The four walked into the kitchen and took their seats around the set table. Dan took his seat at the head of the table while Calvin sat to his right and Hermione and Dean sat across from Calvin to Dan's left.**

" **So, Calvin, now that you've officially been hired," Calvin said happily, grabbing a piece of garlic bread before handing the plate over to Hermione, "let's go over a few things. So you'll be living here in our spare room as we discussed** **一"**

" **You're living here?!" Dean exclaimed excitedly, causing Calvin to grin and nod. "Wicked!"**

"Aw, little Dean is so cute," Padma cooed.

Dean grinned. "So is big Dean," he laughed.

 _Ain't that the truth._

" **Very wicked," Dan laughed, smiling fondly at Dean. "The room, like I told you, has its own bathroom. It also has a balcony that overlooks the backyard. Now i'll be taking out one hundred pounds a week for housing, but i'll also be paying you twenty pounds an hour so it shouldn't really make a dent."**

"Twenty pounds?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Is that a lot of money?" Draco asked.

"Think of it this way," Harry began, "One galleon is equal to about five pounds. So he would be making four galleons an hour and he works twenty four hours. He'll be bringing in a lot of money."

Draco stared at him, shocked. Turning to Hermione he asked, "Are you rich?" Hermione simply nodded, as if it was no big deal. "How did I not know this?" he asked incredulously

"Because unlike _some_ people I don't feel the need to show it off," she laughed and Draco shot her a glare.

 **At that moment Calvin, who had been drinking his water, started to choke and splutter. "Tw-Twenty pounds an hour?! Are you for real?" Calvin squeaked in a high pitched voice before clearing his throat. "I mean are you for real?" he said in his normal tone.**

"Right there. That would be me," Parvati said through her laughter.

 **Across from him Hermione and Dean started giggling into their pasta. Calvin shot them a teasing glare before turning back to Dan with an incredulous look.**

 **Dan gave a deep chuckle. "Trust me, after a week of dealing with these troublemakers you'll think it's too little of an amount."**

" **Hey!"**

" **Anyways, you can have Saturdays and Sundays off, as my wife and I have those days completely off. You will also be getting a household credit card for anything you may find you need for the kids. And that means anything, whether it's serious matters or for fun. You don't have to worry about food, our home is now your home. You take care of our kids and we'll take care of you," Dan continued.**

"Damn, your father is super generous," Theo said.

"Hell, I'll babysit you guys," Terry laughed.

Hermione smiled. "When my grandfather died we came into a lot of money. Daddy doesn't like to show it off, he's a very humble man. So instead he uses it to help out those he can."

"So kindness runs in the family, I see," Neville said, smiling gently.

 **Calvin looked down at his plate with a small, touched smile. No one had ever gone to such lengths to take care of him before. "So please feel free to eat anything in the fridge or cabinets, and use and of the equipment. If you do buy food feel free to store it in the kitchen. We can't eat dinner together as much as we would like to, but when we do we hope that you will join us."**

" **I would love to, sir," Calvin said softly.**

" **Good," Dan said happily. "This is your home now, Calvin. I hope you can come to see it as such."**

 **Calvin smiled. "Thank you, sir. Honestly, this** **一** **what is this?" Calvin suddenly said, confused. Looking into his pasta his nose scrunched, confused, and he reached to fingers in.**

"Oh no," Daphne sighed.

"What did you guys do _now_?" Seamus groaned.

 **Dan watched, horrified, as Calvin slowly pulled a dead worm from his food. "Huh, well that's interesting. This doesn't look like a noodle."**

 **Dan groaned and turned towards his kids with a horrified gaze. The two devils were currently trying to hide their giggles in their pasta, giving Calvin sly little glances.**

"It's like looking at Fred and George," Ron said, horrified.

 **Calvin, who had caught their giggles, smirked.**

"That's never good," Anthony said, watching with rapt attention.

" **Huh, maybe it's a new kind of pasta? Guess i'll have to try it out." Before anyone could do anything Calvin threw the worm into his mouth.**

"Ew!"

"Gross!"

"Turn off!"

"Is he nuts?!"

"He's great," Draco laughed with a wide grin and wide eyes.

 **The rest of the table's occupants gaped at him as he chewed the worm. "You know, a little crunchy, but I can't really taste the flavor." He picked up his fork and started digging around his pasta. "Oh, look, here's another one! Maybe I should try it again. You know, possibly get a better tasting of it."**

"No!"

"Yes!" Draco shouted, looking like an excited puppy. Harry stared at him in disbelief.

" **No!" Hermione suddenly yelled as Calvin picked up the second worm and held it to his open mouth. "Okay, okay, you pass your second test!"**

"Of course it'd be a test," Theo said, rolling his eyes. "It's Hermione fucking Granger."

Before she realized what she was doing she stuck her tongue out at him. His eyes went wide and she silently cursed as a huge grin came to his face.

"Yes!" he shouted, throwing his fist into the air. "I finally got you to do it! I fucking win!" his excitement immediately beat Draco's as he kept fist bumping the air. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Mate, you're so weird," Blaise said, staring at him like he'd lost his mind. "Between you and Draco I don't know how I became friends with either one of you."

 **Calvin looked at her, slowly lowering the worm away from his mouth. "Second test?" he asked, amused.**

 **Hermione nodded. "I had to make absolute sure that you were the one."**

 **Calvin raised an eyebrow. "And am I?" he asked, throwing the worm back into him bowl. Hermione nodded shyly. "Well, good then. Glad I passed. Now, how about we go read a book?" he said nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just eaten a dead worm.**

 **But he decided that it had been worth it when he saw her small face light up and nod excitedly.**

"He is awesome," Draco said, nodding his head. "That boy is just awesome."

"You're so weird," Harry said softly, still staring at him.

Draco just gave him a large grin in response. Harry jerked back as if he'd been slapped and his eyes widened.

"So weird," he repeated before turning back to the screen, ignoring Draco's chuckles.

 ***Scene Change***

" **Hey," Sonya said tiredly as she entered through the front door. Dan turned and smiled happily at her from where he was leaning on the archway that opened into the living room. "What's got you so happy?" she asked, placing her purse and keys on the table next to the door.**

"What doesn't make this man happy?" Padma laughed.

 **With a smug smile he said, "I finally found the right one. She hired him."**

" **No way," Sonya said disbelievingly, stopping in her tracks.**

 **Dan grinned widely and nodded his head before motioning to the inside of the living room. Sonya slowly made her way towards the archway as if scared of what she'd discover. When she reached the open space and glanced inside she gasped at what she saw.**

" **Oh my," she said breathlessly.**

 **Lying on his back across the couch with his eyes closed was Calvin. On his chest with one hand tightly holding onto his shirt while her head was snuggled into the crook of his neck was none other than little Hermione. Calvin had his left arm securely wrapped around her waist while his right arm fell off the couch. His right hand rested on top of Dean's head, where he slept on a pile of pillows with a blanket thrown over him.**

"How. Bloody. Cute," Daphne said as a lot of the girls cooed. Hermione and Dean smiled happily up at the scene, that being the first of many cuddles.

" **Isn't that just so precious," Sonya sighed in awe, hands clutched to her chest as she took in the scene. "But Hermione never let's anyone that's not family touch her."**

"You let me hug you," Harry stated.

"Because you're family," Hermione said, as if it was obvious.

Harry grinned. "I know, I just wanted to hear you say it."

" **Well, he's as good as family now. I mean the kids put worms in his pasta and he ate it** _ **willingly**_ **."**

" **He ate it?" Sonya said incredulously, and Dan nodded. "And he's still here?" again, Dan noddd. "Oh, he's** _ **definitely**_ **not going anywhere."**

 **Dan chuckled lightly and drew her to his chest. "No, I have a feeling he'll be around for awhile," he said gently, kissing the top of her head. Looking back at the sleeping children he smiled. "I also have a feeling that our lives just got a little more interesting."**

 ***Scene Fades***

"That was great," Harry said. "I like him. Can I meet him?"

"Of course, Harry. He'll be at graduation," Hermione smiled.

"And your parents, too, right?" Harry asked excitedly.

Hermione froze. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before, fortunately, the door opening saved her from answering.

McGonagall entered the room and looked around suspiciously. "Oh, wow, look at this. You're all still alive," she said sarcastically. Most of the room blushed and looked away from her stern gaze. "It is lunch time. You have an hour break, and then I expect you right back here come twelve o'clock."

Everyone nodded and started filing out of the room.

"We need to talk," Hermione said lightly to Dean as they exited the class, and he immediately agreed. They walked the opposite way of their classmates, not paying attention to the three sets of eyes trailing after them.

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this character as much as I did! I absolutely LOVE Calvin so much. He's literally just . . . ugh amazing. If you want to know how I picture him look up the actor Lance Gross. Please please leave me reviews of what you think! If you have suggestions or things you want to see I'm all ears! Also I will be replying to reviews at the end of each chapter, so responses to reviews from chapter two are below! Love you guys!**

 **Xoxo,**

 **Oliviaa Rose**

 **Reviews:**

 **Maddening Dreams: Glad you approve of the talk of racism. I was a little worried about that, but I never saw it done before so I wanted too. There will definitely be more touchy subjects in the future that I will cross the best I can without it being too cringe worthy. And I love the way they meet too! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!**

 **Ragsweas: Thank you! I'm glad I didn't disappoint**

 **Roon0: Thank you! I'm happy for Dean as well, and I hoped this satisfied your concern for the other children. I was NOT going to leave them with that awful woman, haha!**

 **Inevitabledeathh: Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad to hear it! It means so much! And yes, those two are QUITE cute, but no promises yet!**

 **PrincessSparkles95: Thank you so much! There will be a lot of cliffhangers in the future, so be prepared! I hope this chapter revives your dying reader sould again, haha!**

 **Rotten Princess4: Thank you, it means so much that you like it!**

 **Steelmagnolia247: I haven't decided if I'm doing any of the other students after this yet, I'm not sure. For now, I'm going to try to get through this one, but the thought is still there! Thank you! Glad you like it!**

 **Wewerk1977: Thank you so much! I'm so happy you like it! Just warning you, there will be a lot of hurt and drama in the future, but hopefully I can write it in a way that keeps you reading! Thanks again!**


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